Grand Island

The flight was a part 135 six-month proficiency check for the pilot in the left seat. Both pilots were check airmen for the commuter air carrier. The flight took off at 2343 after cessation of company revenue operations. The cockpit voice recorder recorded conversation of both pilots discussing aerobatics. The pilot in the left seat started to describe the performance of a prohibited maneuver (apparently a barrel roll). The recording ended before description of the maneuver was completed. The airplane impacted in a nose level attitude with the left wing slightly down. There was evidence the maneuver was performed at an altitude insufficient to assure recovery of the airplane. A filled out grade sheet for the flight being flown was found in the check airman's mailbox. Both pilots were killed.

The twin engine aircraft crashed and burned 4 miles north of the airport while on an instrument approach. The pilot had transmitted that he had an engine problem. The #5 cylinder was found detached from the left engine but the left propeller was not feathered. An engine teardown revealed evidence to indicate the #5 cylinder attachments were not properly torqued. No preimpact failure could be found with the right engine. The right propeller was found in feathered position. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The crew started the approach to Saranac Lake-Adirondack Airport by night and encountered poor visibility due to fog and snow showers. Unable to locate the runway, the captain decided to abandon the approach and initiated a go-around. Few minutes later, a second attempt to land was also abandoned for similar reasons. During a third attempt, the airplane passed below the MDA and once at an altitude of 2,140 feet, it struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located about 2 miles short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

While on a night approach to runway 35, the crew encountered low visibility due to low ceiling and fog. On final, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that crashed few miles short of runway. Both occupants were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

The first officer, who was flying, started the approach to runway 17 which does not have approach lights nor Instrument landing System. At the time the aircraft was northbound in the holding pattern of the Grand Island VOR. A 90 degree left turn, then a 270 degree right turn was accomplished which aligned the aircraft, with the runway. The following sequence of events was described by the captain and substantiated by the first officer. The captain stated “. . . We completed the approach checklist and made a turn north of the low frequency range (8391 feet from the threshold of runway 17) which was visible as we went over it. The area around the range and the south half of the distance to the airport was absolutely clear. Our path was one which had the runway lights clearly aligned. (The runway lights were on at position 3 which is medium intensity.) The approach was a normal gradual descent. The radios were tuned to the low frequency range and the Omni. Since we were not ready to land our checklist was complete with the exception of approach flaps and landing flaps and ADI on. There were no ground witnesses to the approach or crash which was in a large level open field. There was no moonlight and the captain testified that except for the lights on the range station, there were no ground lights seen under the approach path. Both he and the first officer testified that they did not observe the runway light appear to "spread," which amounts to a visual warning of being very low - nearly at the level of the lights upon approaching the runway. A weather observation at 2037. seven minutes after the accident was: special, clear, visibility 7 miles, temperature 26 degrees F, dewpoint 26 degrees F, wind south 10 knots, altimeter setting 29.80 inches (aircraft accident) (observation recorded but not transmitted via teletype). The initial point of contact of the nosewheel was about three feet to the right of the extended centerline of runway 17 and approximately 4,061 feet short of the threshold of that runway. Additional marks indicate that the aircraft struck while nearly level longitudinally, in a yaw of about six degrees to the right, and in a shallow left bank. Upon initial impact, the left main landing gear collapsed and was torn free. Both propellers struck the ground and were also torn off with the nose cones of their respective engines. The left wing became detached as the aircraft rolled to the left onto its back and slid, inverted, swerving to the left and coming to rest on a heading of about 045 degrees at a distance of 1,275 feet from the place of first contact. Fire developed in the detached left wing, but not in the fuselage. Consequently all 43 occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft quickly, with the majority going out through the galley service door, which the stewardess opened and the others leaving via the emergency exit at seat 8D. The captain left through a cockpit window; the first officer and one passenger through a hole in the fuselage. Injuries were sustained by both pilots and three passengers. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

Crashed on landing at Grand Island Airport, killing all five crew members. The crew was involved in a control flight, prior to delivery to the RAF.

The crew was returning to his base in Grand Island in order to prepare to join the European operations. En route, the crew inform ground about his position over Powder River. This was the last communication. Around 2359LT, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in the Bighorn Mountain Range, in the north part of Wyoming. All SAR operations were suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 crew members was found. Two cowboys found the wreckage on August 12, 1945. The aircraft was off course at the time of the accident. After a petition by veterans groups in Wyoming, the unnamed mountain on which the aircraft crashed was christened 'Bomber Mountain' on 22 August 1946 by the U.S. Forest Service.
Crew (318th BS):
Lt William R. Ronaghan, pilot,
Lt Anthony S. Tilotta, copilot,
Lt Leonard H. Phillips, navigator,
Lt Charles H. Suppes, bombardier,
Sgt James A. Hinds, flight engineer,
Sgt Lee V. Millar, assistant to the flight engineer,
Sgt Ferguson T. Bell, radio operator,
Sgt Charles E. Newburn Jr., assistant to the radio operator,
Sgt Jake E. Penick, air gunner,
Sgt Lewis M. Shepherd, air gunner.