United States of America

Crashed on landing at Corpus Christi NAS and came to rest in flames into the sea. Crew fate remains unknown.

Shortly after takeoff from Corpus Christi NAS, while in initial climb, the seaplane stalled and crashed, killing all five crew members. They were performing a ferry flight to Seattle.

The crew was performing takeoffs and landings on rough sea off Fort Walton Beach. On takeoff, the seaplane hit waves and plunged into the water. As only one watertight door was closed, a huge amount of water flood into the plane that sank quickly about 15 miles offshore. Four crew members were rescued while three others were killed. The aircraft was never recovered.
Source: http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=166047

While flying at low altitude, the seaplane (VP-53) hit tree tops and crashed in a dense wooded area located on Mt Dolberg, near Granite Falls. All seven crew members were killed.

The crew was performing a local training flight from Washington-National Airport. Enroute, the engine number four caught fire and the crew was unable to extinguish the fire. The captain informed ATC about his situation and obtained the authorization to return to Washington-National Airport for an emergency landing. On final approach to runway 33, the engine number four separated from the wing. Despite the situation, the crew was able to continue the approach and landed safely. While all four crew members were unhurt, the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair due to the severity of the damages that the right wing suffered due to fire.

On approach to Nome Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low visibility. Apparently to establish a visual contact with the ground, the pilot reduced his altitude and passed below 400 feet when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain shrouded by clouds. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all four occupants were killed.

The aircraft was reported over Elko, Nevada, at 0121 and the pilot stated to the Aircraft Communicator at Elko that he had the field n and that he anticipated no difficulty in landing. The latest weather information was transmitted to the pilot and acknowledged by him: Ceiling measured 200 feet, thin overcast; lower thin scattered clouds at 100 visibility 7 miles; wind ENE at 6 mph; altimeter setting 30.14. No further transmission was received from the flight. Elko radio made several attempts to contact Aircraft 850 without success and, at approximately 0133, notified Airway Traffic control that radio contact was no longer being maintained with the flight. Salt Lake City Air Traffic Control requested Battle Mountain radio to attempt to contact the aircraft in the event the pilot had elected to continue to his alternate. However, although several attempts were made, no contact was established with the flight. United Air Lines' Flight 16, of September 4, 1946, en route to Salt Lake City on Airway Green 3, was called by the United Air Lines station at Salt Lake City and requested to check the vicinity of Elko for any sign of fire or other indications of an aircraft accident. The time of this contact was 0200, at which time Flight 16 was approximately 5 miles east of Elko Range Station. The Caption of Flight 16 returned to Elko and scanned the area in the vicinity of the airport. On approaching the airport the flight crew of the United Air Lines' DC-3 observed an intense fire approximately 2 miles west and almost directly in line with Runway 23 of the Elko Airport. This information was transmitted to the United Air Lines' ground station at Elko, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The fire warden at Elko was immediately notified of the location of the fire and was requested to proceed to the scene of the fire. Personnel from the C. A. Communications Station at Elko arrived at the scene of the fire at approximately 0230 and found that the aircraft had crashed near the top of a ridge, the elevation of which was approximately 11' feet above that of the field, and at a point approximately 2 1/2 miles west of the west and of Runway 23 at Elko Airport. At this time the wreckage was found to be burned severely and, with the exception of two passengers, one of whom died shortly afterward, all occupants had been fatally injured in the aircraft.

Enroute, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to make an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed and came to rest near Donnelly, about 40 miles south of Big Delta. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

The crew left Memphis at 2110LT for a three hours local training flight. About one hour later, contact was lost and the crew did not report anymore. The next early morning, the wreckage was found in a wooded, rolling terrain located five miles WSW of Ashland, and both crew members were killed. The attitude at impact indicates that, prior to the accident, the aircraft had been in an almost vertical dive and the complete demolition of the structure resulting from impact indicates very high speed. It is apparent, therefore, that the aircraft was not under normal control at the time of impact. During the course of this flight, the pilots were expected to practice recovery from unusual maneuvers similar to those contained in CAA flight checks. While it appears that the unusual attitude of the aircraft at the moment of impact may have resulted from a voluntary maneuver by one of the pilots, recovery from which was not completed, the possibility of loss of control from some other factor not apparent in the investigation cannot be eliminated. The fact that the ballast in the passengers' compartment was unsecured created the possibility of a serious shifting of balance during unusual attitudes. While the maximum possible movement of this ballast would probably not alter the center of gravity beyond approved limits, a sudden shift during an unusual maneuver may have produced a forward movement of the aircraft center of gravity location of almost 12 Inches. Such a change in center of gravity would have had an appreciable effect on "trim", and the resulting change in control forces would obviously have complicated an attempt by the pilot to recover from an unanticipated severe change in attitude. Some laxity must be charged to the company, therefore, for its failure to assure that the condition of the aircraft and its contents was suitable for the flight activity contemplated. As a result of the investigation of this accident, it appears that the aircraft, for reasons not determined, entered an unusual attitude from which recovery was not completed. Recovery in this instance may have been complicated by unsecured ballast or defective instruments, or both.

The aircraft left Chicago Airport at 0303LT bound for Omaha on a charter flight with 22 passengers and a crew of three on board. Less than one hour into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet via the route Green 3, a small explosion occurred in the left engine, forcing the crew to shut this engine down and to feather the propeller. The captain informed ATC of his situation and obtained the permission to divert to Moline Airport located 35 miles from his position. On final approach to runway 22, the captain realized that his position to the runway centerline was wrong and elected to make a go around. With undercarriage and flaps down, he made a turn to the left when the left wing tip hit the ground, causing the aircraft to crash in a field. Both pilots were killed while 23 other occupants were injured, some of them seriously. The aircraft was destroyed.