United States of America

During a late-spring snowstorm, the aircraft crashed into a swamp located at the north end of Perimeter Road at Grenier Field AFB, Manchester, after striking the corner of the fire station hangar. The aircraft broke in two while the right wing was sheared off. All occupants, local dignitaries, were injured.

The aircraft departed Anchorage international Airport at 0905LT (scheduled time of departure 0845), destination Seward. The flight plan filed with the company by Pilot John Arthur Waide contained the following: Anchorage to Seward VFR via Skilak Lake, airspeed 145 knots, estimated time en route 45 minutes. All fuel tanks were full and the fuel on board was sufficient for six hours. The estimated time for arrival at Seward was 0950. Witnesses saw the airplane flying southeast toward Seward, heard it circle Upper Russian Lake and saw it pass them again flying west-northwest at 0951. At 1255 Flight 6 was still unreported and search and rescue procedures were initiated. On April 10, 1956, at approximately 1400, the wreckage was reported on the south slope of an unnamed mountain east of Skilak Lake at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet MSL, near latitude 60 degree 24 'N, longitude 150 degree 03'W. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants have been killed.

The crew was conducting a post-maintenance test flight. Shortly after takeoff from Travis AFB, while climbing to a height of 100 feet, the aircraft banked left, stalled and crashed in flames. Three crew members were killed while four others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
1st Lt James Lyman Hayter,
2nd Lt Richard C. Nelson,
2nd Lt Garth L. Tingey,
M/Sgt Russell M. Hobart,
M/Sgt Harold E. Roache, †
M/Sgt Arthur G. Bird, †
S/Sgt Amos H. Kolb. †

The crew was completing a local training flight at Randolph AFB. While flying at low height at a speed of 140 mph, the aircraft struck a 160-foot high telecommunications tower and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The wreckage was found in Selma, north of the airbase. A crew member was killed while five others escaped uninjured.
Crew:
1st Lt L. R. Hildebrand +5.

Flight 2 was scheduled daily between Seattle, Washington. and New York, New York, with intermediate stops at Portland, Oregon, and Chicago., Illinois. It departed Seattle-Tacoma Airport at 0806 on an IFR flight plan to Portland, Oregon, via Victor Airway 23 to cruise at 6,000 feet. There were 32 passengers arid a crew of six consisting of Captain Robert Reeve Heard, First Officer Gene Paul Johnson, Flight Engineer Carl Vernon Thomsen, Flight Service Attendant David V. Razey, Senior Stewardess Elinor A. Whitacre. and Junior Stewardess Dorothy L. Oetting. Takeoff was made on runway 20 and the flight climbed to an altitude of 1,000 to 1,200 feet. At this time power reduced and the wing flaps which had been set at the normal 25-degree takeoff position, were retracted at an airspeed of 145 knots. Immediately the crew became aware of severe buffeting and a strong tendency of the aircraft to roll to the left. Because the buffeting began almost immediately after the flaps ware retracted, the captain believed that it was due to a split-flap condition, i. e., the wing flaps on one side of the aircraft being retracted while the flaps on the other side remained partially or fully down. Power was reduced momentarily in an attempt to alleviate the buffeting but this was not effective and maximum continuous power was again restored. After being cleared by the Seattle tower for return the captain decided not to turn the aircraft because of control difficulty and advised that he would proceed to McChord Air Force Base at Tacoma. Thereafter, the captain testified the trouble became worse and the aircraft continued to lose altitude. The captain elected to ditch and did so at approximately 0810. Touchdown was on smooth water at an airspeed of approximately 120 knots and there was no abrupt deceleration. Passengers and crew members, except the captain and first officer, left the aircraft through the main cabin door and emergency exits. The captain and first officer, after a passenger count, left the aircraft through cockpit windows and swam to the left and right wings, respectively. The aircraft sank in approximately 15 minutes and by that time all persons on the wings had been supplied with buoyant cushions from the cabin seats. Those who survived were rescued by surface craft from the 42-degree F. water within 30 to 35 minutes from the time of ditching.

Flight 400 was regularly scheduled between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Newark, New Jersey, with stops at Harrisburg. Reading. and Allentown, Pennsylvania. Captain Raymond F. McQuade, First Officer Harlan V. Jesperson, and Hostess Vary Jane Fanning, comprised the crew. Prior to departure the pilots were briefed on the en route weather and received the sequence and forecast reports. Although the en route weather was generally good the night was dispatched to Newark on an IFR flight plan via airways as is customary. Upon departure the gross weight of the aircraft was 41,822 pounds (the certificated allowable takeoff gross is 44,900 pounds and TWA's own limit is 43.,650 pounds) and the center of gravity of the loaded aircraft was located within the prescribed limits. Scheduled departure time was 1915; the flight asked for and received taxi clearance at 1916, was then given the wind as calm, and was cleared to runway 23. Takeoff clearance was requested and granted at 1919. About one minute later tower personnel observed a seemingly normal takeoff and initial climb immediately followed by a left turning descent, crash, and erupting fire just beyond the southwest boundary of the airport. Passengers extricated themselves from the jumbled wreckage through and ahead of the fire as best they could; some helped others while a few found themselves thrown out through tears and rents in the shattered fuselage. Although airport based fire fighting equipment was dispatched with no loss of tune some 20 minutes elapsed before it reached the site because of the necessity of traversing circuitous country lanes. Once there, the conflagration, which by that time had nearly consumed the wreckage, was quickly smothered. The stewardess and 21 passengers were killed while 14 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed.

The crew was performing a flight from Harlingen AFB, Texas, to New York with an intermediate stop at Dobbins AFB, Georgia. The accident occurred in unclear circumstances, killing both crew members, Cpt Cecil Bryant and 1st Lt Donald Carillo.

While conducting a training mission out from Wright-Patterson AFB, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in Wilmington Pike, southeast of Dayton. All 11 occupants were killed.

The crew departed West Palm Beach at 1345LT for a local training mission. After completing several maneuvers, the crew was returning to his base when, on final approach, at a speed of 142 knots, the four engine aircraft struck a 42-foot high light pole. It continued for 660 feet, lost its both wings, broken in two and eventually crashed in a field. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Andrew B. Smernis, pilot,
Cpt Earl Wellington Meredith, Jr., copilot,
2nd Lt Thomas Dee McLeod, copilot,
T/Sgt William Edward McDeid, flight engineer,
M/Sgt John Harold James, panel engineer.

Capital Airlines flight 141 of February 20, 1956, originated at Willow Run Airport, Detroit, Michigan, and was a regularly scheduled flight to Chicago. The crew consisted of Captain Roger Harrison Taylor, First Officer George Richard Hanst and Stewardesses Jacqueline V. Sadowski and Gloria Galloway. Captain R. E. Gilliland, the fifth assigned crew member, was deadheading to Chicago and rode in the passenger cabin. Following a weather briefing, which included a review of en route and terminal weather forecasts, a VFR flight plan was filed. Departure from Detroit was at 0700. The gross takeoff weight of the air- craft was 54,701 pounds, which was below the specified limit; the load was distributed properly with respect to the center of gravity of the aircraft. The flight to the vicinity of Chicago was routine. Near Chicago Flight 141 reported to the Chicago tower that it was over the shoreline. The flight later reported passing Kedzie and was cleared to land on runway 31R. The flight was observed to make a right turn to final approach and appeared to descend in a normal manner until over the west side of Cicero Avenue (the eastern boundary of the airport) at an altitude of 25 to 50 feet above the ground. At this point the airplane appeared to decelerate and descend rapidly. The aircraft was further observed to strike the ground in a slightly nose-up attitude several hundred feet short of the threshold of threshold of the runway, and the top of the fuselage was seen to break open adjacent to the wing spar to fuselage attachment. As the aircraft proceeded down the runway the landing gear retracted and the aircraft then slid on its belly until it came to rest to the left of the runway, 1,626 feet beyond the point of initial impact. All occupants left the aircraft through emergency exits or the main cabin door. The fire department, having been called by tower personnel, arrived at the scene before all persons had evacuated the aircraft. However, there was no fire. The Chicago weather at 0720 was reported as: Sky clear, visibility 6 miles; smoke; wind north-northwest.