Region
North America
code

USA

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina in the St Johns River: 5 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
08411
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Jacksonville - Jacksonville
Location:
Jacksonville-Towers Field NAS
Florida
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Crashed while landing in the St Johns River off the Jacksonville-Towers Field NAS. Five crew members were killed while five others were injured.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina into the Escambia Bay: 3 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
2378
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Pensacola - Pensacola
Location:
Pensacola
Florida
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Crashed while landing into the Escambia Bay, off Pensacola. Three crew members were killed and two others were injured.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando in Belle Center: 3 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Curtiss C-46 Commando
Operator:
Registration:
42-3669
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Buffalo – Wright Patterson
MSN:
26802
YOM:
1944
Location:
Belle Center
Ohio
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The C-46 transport plane operated on a military cargo flight from Buffalo, NY to Patterson Field, OH carrying 8000 pounds of cargo. A fire started in the area of the fuel cross-feed valve, APU and gasoline heater. The floor structure weakened due to the intense fire and collapsed. The airplane descended on fire and crashed into trees.
Crew:
Cpt James Wyatt Hartzog,
2nd Lt Francis F. Munchrath,
M/Sgt Jacob Oswalt.
Source:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19450126-1

Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL in Birmingham: 4 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
41-38636
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Maxton – Birmingham – Lubbock
MSN:
4739
YOM:
1942
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew left Maxton AAF to Lubbock, Texas, with an intermediate stop in Birmingham, towing to Waco CG-4A gliders. On approach to Birmingham, the crew was vectored to the NE-SW runway but for unknown reason, the captain decided to land on the north-south runway. After both gliders landed without problems, the crew of the C-47 started to take off when shortly after rotation, the aircraft stalled and crashed in flames. All four occupants were killed.
Crew:
T/Sgt E. M. Bechtold,
1st Lt Fred T. Heise,
2nd Lt John N. Ricker,
Avc Lawrence W. Schloss.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina into the Jamaica Bay: 5 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
48417
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Location:
New York
New York
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
12
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The seaplane crashed on landing into the Jamaica Bay, killing five crew members.

Crash of a Martin PBM-5 Mariner off Kaneohe NAS: 8 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Martin PBM Mariner
Operator:
Registration:
59015
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Kaneohe - Kaneohe
MSN:
59015
Location:
Kaneohe Bay NAS
Hawaii
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
While on a training flight, the seaplane went out of control and crashed two miles off Kanehoe NAS, killing all eight crew members.
Probable cause:
It appears the lost of control was caused by an engine failure.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK in Brownfield: 4 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
42-93191
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Malden – Harrisburg
MSN:
13075
YOM:
1944
Location:
Brownfield
Illinois
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew departed Malden AAF, Missouri, on a flight to Harrisburg Regional Airport, south Illinois. While cruising at low height, the airplane hit a house and crashed 3 km west of Brownfield. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
2nd Lt Emerson L. Weller,
2nd Lt Floyd E. Williams,
Pvt Frank C. Lee,
Pvt Saul Z. Silver.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3-277B near Burbank: 24 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Douglas DC-3
Operator:
Registration:
NC25684
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
New York – Washington DC – Cincinnati – Memphis – Dallas – El Paso – Phoenix – Burbank
MSN:
2215
YOM:
1940
Flight number:
AA6001
Location:
Burbank
California
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
24
Captain / Total flying hours:
6315
Captain / Total hours on type:
4660.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
2113
Copilot / Total hours on type:
1792
Aircraft flight hours:
14888
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from El Paso, the crew started the approach to Burbank-Hollywood-Lockheed Air Terminal at night. Due to low visibility caused by poor weather conditions, the pilot was unable to localize the airport and decided to proceed to the alternate airfield, Palmdale. Few minutes later, as it was flying at a too low altitude, the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed on the slope of a wooded hill located in the Verdigo mountains, some 4 miles northeast of the Burbank Airport. All 24 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The possibility of an accident became a potentiality when the company ground personnel failed to obtain and transmit important weather to the pilot. Failure to obtain and transmit this information to the pilot constitutes negligence on the part of the company. This, however, did not relieve the pilot of his responsibility to conduct a safe flight although it did place him in a disadvantageous position. Had no properly execution the "missed-approach" procedure it is unlikely that the accident would have occurred. The Board, therefore, determines that the probable cause of this accident was "the pilot's attempt to use the standard 'missed-approach' procedure after having followed another course up to a point there it was impossible to apply this procedure safely."
Final Report:

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando near Carson City: 5 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Curtiss C-46 Commando
Operator:
Registration:
42-96690
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Reno - Reno
MSN:
30352
YOM:
1944
Location:
Carson City
Nevada
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew departed Reno AAF at 0650LT for a local training mission. While cruising east of Carson City, a fire erupted in the left engine. Shortly later, the left wing on fire detached and hit the tail. The aircraft went out of control, disintegrated and eventually crashed in a mountainous area located some 31 miles east of Carson City. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt William A. Beven,
Pvt William R. Carl,
Pvt Fred R. Davis,
F/O Donovan J. Hogan,
1st Lt Walter E. Schmidt.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina off Whidbey Island NAS: 1 killed

Date & Time:
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
46585
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Whidbey Island - Whidbey Island
MSN:
1949
Location:
Whidbey Island NAS (Ault Field)
Washington
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The seaplane crashed for unknown reasons while landing off Whidbey Island NAS. A crew member was killed and eight others were rescued.
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