Crash of a Fairchild R4Q-2 Flying Boxcar in Whiting Field NAS: 44 killed
Date & Time:
Jul 17, 1953 at 2315 LT
Operator:
Registration:
131663
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Corpus Christi – Whiting – Norfolk
MSN:
10830
YOM:
1951
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
40
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
44
Circumstances:
The aircraft was on its way from Corpus Christi to Norfolk with a fuel stop at Whiting Field NAS, carrying 44 members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Shortly after a night takeoff from Whiting Field NAS, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height and eventually crashed in a wooded area located 0,75 mile past the runway end. A crew member and a passenger were rescued while 44 other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The copilot was the pilot-in-command at the time of the accident. It is believed he suffered a spatial disorientation immediately after liftoff. Despite a visibility of about 9 miles, experts considered the flight conditions as non satisfying. It was determined that the climb gradient was too low while the flaps and the undercarriages were raised at impact. Thus it is believed that the pilots forgot to deploy the flaps prior to takeoff, which contributed to the loss of lift after rotation and the subsequent crash.
