Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-5-CU Commando in Yunnanyi: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-12329
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
26456
YOM:
1943
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Crashed shortly after take off, killing both crew members.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3-196A near Yanchi: 32 killed

Date & Time: Jun 9, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
URSS-N
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Alma Ata – Tihwa – Hami
MSN:
2043
YOM:
1938
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
28
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
32
Circumstances:
En route from Tihwa (now Urumqi) to Hami, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and severe icing conditions. While cruising below minima weather conditions, the aircraft encountered strong downstream in the region of the Chigi-Chinze Pass. It went out of control and crashed at an altitude of some 2,000 meters about 20 km northeast of Yanchi. The wreckage was found six days later, on June 15. All 32 occupants, among them 26 Chinese citizens, were killed.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-5-CU Commando in Kunming

Date & Time: May 30, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-12323
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
26450
YOM:
1943
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed on landing. No casualties.

Crash of a Douglas C-53 in Pianma: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 11, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
53
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Kunming – Dinjan
MSN:
4904
YOM:
1942
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Kunming to Dinjan with a load of tungsten on board. Due to the presence of Japanese forces along the normal route, the crew decided to divert and to follow another route passing over the Pianma Pass. In low visibility due to snow falls, the captain reduced his altitude to maintain a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located near the Pianma Pass, at the border between China and Burma. All three crew were killed. Some debris of the aircraft were found by hikers in October 1996.

Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL near Dali: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 17, 1942
Operator:
Registration:
60
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Kunming – Dinjan
MSN:
4681
YOM:
1942
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
A load of ammunition and fuel drums was dropped in Kunming. On the return flight to Dinjan, Assam, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and disappeared. SAR operations did not find any trace of the aircraft nor the crew. Eventually, the wreckage was found in 2011 on the slope of a 13,400 feet high mountain located 15 km northwest of Dali.

Crash of a Douglas DC-2-221 in Kunming: 13 killed

Date & Time: Mar 14, 1942 at 2215 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
31
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kunming – Chongqing
MSN:
1567
YOM:
1937
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Kunming-Wujiaba Airport, while climbing, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height. It stalled and crashed in a field located two km past the runway end. Four passengers were injured while 13 other occupants were killed. According to survivors, the engine run roughly after rotation.
Crew:
William H. Schuler, pilot, †
Emil Silvan 'Scotty' Scott, copilot, †
T. Z. Woo, radio navigator. †
Passengers:
Maj Lancelot Dennys, Chief of the British Military Mission in China, †
Lt Col Frederick L. Kohler from the US Military Mission, †
Dr. Fenimore B. Lynch, Financial Director by the Central Bank of China, †
Lt Col Otto C. George from the US Military Mission, †
James Percy Russell, broker, †
D. Rocksen, †
Cecil Lowe and his daughter aged five, †
Col Harvey Edwards, employee of the President Roosevelt's mission,
P. C. Fogarty, commissioner of the State of North Burma in China.
Probable cause:
The airplane suffered an engine failure during initial climb and it is believed that it was operated above the MTOW.

Crash of a Douglas DC-2 near Zhengzhou: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
45
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
At least one person was killed when the airplane crashed near Zhengzhou in unknown circumstances.

Crash of a Douglas DC-2-190 near Taohsien: 3 killed

Date & Time: Feb 12, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
40
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Hong Kong – Chongqing
MSN:
1560
YOM:
1936
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
While cruising at night from Hong Kong to Chongqing, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with storm. In limited visibility, the airplane named 'Kangting' impacted the slope of a mountain located near Taohsien and was destroyed. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Joy Foon Thom, pilot,
Paul Chinn, copilot,
C. N. Pau, radio operator.

Crash of a Nakajima AT-2 in Huangyangshan: 9 killed

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Guangzhou - Haikou
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Guangzhou (Canton) Airport on a flight to Haikou, Hainan Island, carrying six high ranking officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy performing an inspection of the Japanese troops in the occupied South China and three crew members. While flying about 100 km south of Guangzhou, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in Huangyangshan, on the west bank of the Xijiang River. All nine occupants were killed, among them Admiral Mineo Ōsumi, ex Marine Minister.
Passengers:
Adm Mineo Ōsumi,
C/Adm Hikojiro Suga,
Lt Col Takao Tsunoda,
Lt Col Eiichi Shirahama,
Col Chugoro Tachimi,
Cptn Hideo Matsuda.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Ford 5 near Ji'an: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 20, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
23
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
MSN:
5-AT-101
YOM:
1931
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity. In limited visibility, the three engine aircraft impacted the slope of a mountainous peak located in the region of Ji'an. A crew member was injured while all five other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.