Natal

The three engine airplane was on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Rome with intermediate stops in Natal, Sal and Seville. It departed Natal Airport at 0800LT on the leg to Sal, Cape Verde, carrying a crew of four, six passengers and the diplomatic mail. At 1125LT, while overflying the Atlantic Ocean, the crew reported technical problems with the central engine that had to be shut down. At 1146LT, the crew sent a mayday message and 10 minutes later, he informed ATC that the situation on board was difficult. Less than 10 minutes later, the aircraft went out of control and crashed into the sea. Important SAR operations were conducted on an area located some 185 km off the island of Fernando de Noronha. All operations were eventually suspended on January 22 as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 occupants was found. The technical Director of LATI was among the occupants.
Crew:
Primo Ferioli, pilot,
Giuseppe Baratelli, pilot,
Oscar Pinelli, flight engineer,
Guido Fertonani, radio navigator.

The float plane named 'Pampero' crashed in unknown circumstances into the Atlantic Ocean few minutes prior to its arrival in Bathurst, Gambia. No trace was ever found.
Crew:
FF1 Hans Erich Lochner,
FF2 Albin Hartmann,
Bw Werner Schwanke,
Bf Gerhard Rabe,
Dr. Ernst Dierbach.

The float plane was completing a tour between South America and Italy on behalf of the Ministero dell'Aeronautica, carrying six crew members. Few minutes after takeoff from Natal, the airplane caught fire, exploded and crashed into the ocean. A crew member was rescued while five others were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Mario Stoppani,
Cpt Mario Viola, †
Cpt Molinari, †
Cpt Enrico Comani, radio operator, †
Demetrio Jaira, mechanic, †
Renato Pogliani. †

Named 'Croix du Sud', the aircraft was performing its 25th cross Atlantic flight from France to South America. The trip was officially from Marseille to Rio de Janeiro with two intermediate stops in Dakar and Natal. Less than one hour after it left Dakar, the crew confirmed by radio he was encountering a technical problem with the rear right engine and that he was returning to Dakar. Several controls were made on this engine but an oil leak was detected and the engine must be changed. As no spare engine was available, the crew made a complete thorough cleaning and took off again from Dakar at 0643LT. Four hours later, the radio navigator sent a brief message 'we shut down the rear right engine'. This was the last message received by ground. Important SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the five crew members was ever found. Among the crew was the famous French aviator and pioneer Jean Mermoz.
Crew:
Jean Mermoz, pilot,
Alexandre Pichodou, copilot,
Edgar Cruveilher, radio navigator,
Jean Lavidalie, engineer,
Henri Ezan, navigator.

After takeoff from the harbor of Port of Spain, while climbing at night, the captain saw a boat and initiated a sharp turn to avoid the collision. Nevertheless, the right pontoon impacted the boat and the aircraft crashed into the bay. A crew member and two passengers drowned while all 22 other occupants were rescued. The aircraft named 'Puerto Rican Clipper' was damaged beyond repair. At the time of the accident, the visibility was limited because of the night.

The float plane named 'Ville de Buenos Aires' disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean while en route from Dakar to Natal. The crew sent a message around 1100 (Natal time) reporting he was flying in a stormy weather but that all was OK on board. This was the last message. No trace of the aircraft nor the occupant was ever found.
Crew:
Jean Ponce, pilot,
André Parayre, copilot,
Frédéric Marret, radio navigator,
Alexandre Collenot, engineer,
Jean Lhôtellier, navigator.
Passenger:
Émile Barrière, Director of Air France for South America.

After departure from Salvador de Bahia, the crew confirmed by radio that all was going well on board. Few dozen minutes later, while cruising off Aracaju, the single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea. A day later, SAR teams found some debris floating on water as well as four dead bodies.
Crew:
André Depecker, pilot,
Joseph Le Duigou, radio navigator,
Auguste Morel, flight engineer,
Fernand Clavere, navigator.

While approaching the Brazilian coast, the crew encountered technical problems and elected to make an emergency landing on a beach near Fortaleza. The aircraft hit a rock and came to rest upside down. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew departed Germany on a flight to Brazil. En route, the aircraft named 'Espírito de Santo Agostinho' was catapulted from the German ship named 'Cap Arcona'. While approaching the Brazilian coast, the crew was forced to ditch the aircraft for unknown reason. All three crew members were rescued by the crew of the ship named 'SS Stavanger' while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The seaplane named 'Olinda' was performing a flight from Europe to South America with intermediate stops in Fernando de Noronha, Natal and Rio de Janeiro. While taking off from the Rio Potenji in Natal, the aircraft hit a floating object and crashed. Three occupants were killed while a crew member was injured.