Philippines Sea | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The aircraft was on its way from Iwakuni Airbase to the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) cruising in the Philippines Sea on behalf of the 7th Fleet. It is believed that while approaching the supercarrier, the airplane stalled and crashed in the sea, apparently following an engine failure. Eight crew members were rescued while three were still missing two days after the accident. The wreckage was localized on 29 December 2017 at a depth of 5,640 meteres.
Those killed were:
Lt Steven Combs, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment),
Airman Matthew Chialastri,
Aviation Ordnance Airman Apprentice Bryan Grosso.

Crash of a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation into the Philippines Sea: 107 killed

Date & Time: Mar 16, 1962 at 0022 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation

Operator:

Registration:

N6921C

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Travis – Honolulu – Wake Island – Agana – Clark – Saigon

MSN:

4817

YOM:

1957

Flight number:

FT739

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

107

Captain / Total flying hours:

19500

Captain / Total hours on type:

3562.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

17500

Copilot / Total hours on type:

3374

Aircraft flight hours:

17224

Circumstances:

On March 15, 1962, sometime after its last position report at 1422 G.m.t. (22 minutes past midnight, local time), a Flying Tiger Line Inc., Lockheed 1049H, N6921C, operated as Military Air Transport Service Flight 739/14, disappeared west of the position 13 degrees 14' North Latitude and 140 degrees 00' East Longitude en route from Agana Naval Air Station, Guam, to Clark Air Force Base, Philippine Islands. A widespread and intensive search was initiated after the aircraft failed to arrive at Clark Air Force Base at 1916 G.m.t., its estimated time of arrival. The flight was officially declared missing at 2227 G.m.t. which was the estimated fuel exhaustion time for the aircraft. All occupants, 96 military passengers and a crew of 11, are missing and presumed dead. Crew members of a surface vessel witnessed what appeared to have been a midair explosion at 1530 G.m.t., near the position and at the time estimated by the pilot of N6921C for his next scheduled position report. No wreckage or debris which could be definitely associated with the aircraft has been found.

Probable cause:

The Board is unable to determine the probable cause of this accident from the evidence now available.

Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas DC-7C into the Philippines Sea: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 14, 1960 at 0430 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-7

Operator:

Registration:

N292

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

New York – Seattle – Anchorage – Cold Bay – Tokyo – Naha – Manila

MSN:

45462

YOM:

1958

Flight number:

NW1-11

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

17780

Captain / Total hours on type:

1071.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2964

Copilot / Total hours on type:

1190

Aircraft flight hours:

9233

Circumstances:

While the flight was en route between Okinawa and the Philippine Islands, the No. 2 engine experienced an appreciable power loss followed by overspeeding of the propeller. The crew instituted emergency procedures but was unable to control or feather the propeller. The propeller separated from the engine with a resulting nose section fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire failed, and the crew elected to ditch the aircraft. The ditching was accomplished at night during a rainstorm and while under Instrument conditions. All 58 occupants, including the 7 crew members, successfully evacuated the aircraft. Of these, 44 suffered minor injuries and one woman passenger died.

Probable cause:

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the internal failure of No. 2 engine, resulting in oil contamination, loss of oil supply, subsequent loss of the No. 2 propeller assembly, and fire-in-flight, which necessitated a ditching.

Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas C-124C Globemaster II into the Philippines Sea: 19 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1958 at 0610 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Operator:

Registration:

52-1081

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Andersen - Clark

MSN:

43990

YOM:

1952

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Andersen AFB, the crew obtained the permission to climb to 8,000 feet. Few minutes later, the airplane crashed into the Philippines Sea about 55 km west of Guam Island. Few debris were found floating on water but all 19 occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, it is believed that a sudden and intense fire erupted in the cabin in flight and none of the occupant was able to extinguish it. The fire then spread rapidly, causing the aircraft to be out of control.

Crash of a Martin B-26 Marauder into the Philippines Sea: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 25, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Martin B-26 Marauder

Operator:

Registration:

40-1438

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Guangzhou - Suva

MSN:

1438

YOM:

1940

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a flight from Guangzhou to Australia via Suva, Fiji Islands. While cruising in stormy weather, the airplane crashed in the Philippines Sea. No trace of the airplane nor the crew was ever found.
Crew:
Lt Stewart Krauss, pilot,
Lt Louis J. Fuller, copilot,
Lt Daniel J. Burns, navigator,
Cpl Manuel Koff, bombardier,
Cpl Eugene S. Bell, radio operator,
Pvt George M. Riehl, air gunner,
T/Sgt Louis Schmidt, crew chief.