United States of America

Chief Motor Machinist Mate Dana W. Heckart was undergoing flight training at Pensacola and was the co-pilot of PBY-5 04447 during an anti-submarine patrol training flight. The pilot, LT (jg) John W. Nichols, USN, attempted to make a "power stall" water landing during a rain storm. The PBY "hit swells" that "bounced" the aircraft. On the third bounce, the nose of the aircraft buried in the water, causing the aircraft to nose over. The cockpit section separated from the rest of the aircraft and sank, taking Chief Heckart to the bottom. He did not survive. Nichols and the other six members of the crew, although injured, survived the crash.

The crew was returning to his base in Grand Island in order to prepare to join the European operations. En route, the crew inform ground about his position over Powder River. This was the last communication. Around 2359LT, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in the Bighorn Mountain Range, in the north part of Wyoming. All SAR operations were suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 crew members was found. Two cowboys found the wreckage on August 12, 1945. The aircraft was off course at the time of the accident. After a petition by veterans groups in Wyoming, the unnamed mountain on which the aircraft crashed was christened 'Bomber Mountain' on 22 August 1946 by the U.S. Forest Service.
Crew (318th BS):
Lt William R. Ronaghan, pilot,
Lt Anthony S. Tilotta, copilot,
Lt Leonard H. Phillips, navigator,
Lt Charles H. Suppes, bombardier,
Sgt James A. Hinds, flight engineer,
Sgt Lee V. Millar, assistant to the flight engineer,
Sgt Ferguson T. Bell, radio operator,
Sgt Charles E. Newburn Jr., assistant to the radio operator,
Sgt Jake E. Penick, air gunner,
Sgt Lewis M. Shepherd, air gunner.

Crash in unknown circumstances into the Saint Johns River, some 5 miles south of the Jacksonville-Towers Field NAS. All 13 occupants were killed.

Crashed on take off. No casualties.

Crashed in unknown circumstances 30 miles southwest of Moses Lake, killing all eight crew members.

The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances into the Biscayne Bay, killing both pilots. Other source reports the aircraft crashed in Long Beach, California, on February 20, 1945.

En route, the aircraft caught fire for unknown reason. The ten crewmen abandoned the aircraft and bailed out. Without pilot, the aircraft went into a spin and crashed in a field located 3 miles north of Admire. No casualties.

Crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Dutch Harbor, killing two crew members and injuring four others.

Crashed landed at Idaho Falls Airport. No casualties.

On final approach by night and in poor weather conditions, while at a height of 200 feet, the aircraft nosed down and crashed in a field located 4 miles short of runway. All 20 occupants were killed, among them 16 glider pilots.