Date & Time: Oct 5, 1945 at 1245 LT
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Operator:
Registration:
KG867
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Humanitarian
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Blackbushe – Prague
MSN:
963
Location:
Blackbushe
Hampshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
18
Pax fatalities:
18
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
23
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Blackbushe, while in initial climb, the engine number two caught fire. The aircraft stalled and crashed in a huge explosion in a field located 2 miles from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 23 occupants were killed. All of them were Czech citizens being repatriated to their country at the war's end, among them 5 kids.
Crew (311th Squadron):
P/O Jaroslav Kudlácek, pilot,
W/O Antonin Broz, copilot,
P/O Karel Rybnícek, navigator,
F/Sgt Zdenak Sedlák, flight engineer,
F/O Bohumil Vaverka.
Passengers:
Ruzena Lichtensteinová,
Marta Obrazová,
Marina Paulinyová
Michal Richter,
Anna Rosenblumová,
Jiři Rosenblum,
Antonie Šafranek,
Eva ŠafrankovÁ,
Otto Schwarz,
Ladíslav Spbeslavsky,
Margita Sobeslavská,
Marenka Sobeslavská,
Ota Trinks,
Irma Trinksová,
Helena Wodaková,
Greta Žaldová,
Helena Žaldová.
Source:
https://fcafa.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/blackbushe-5-october-1945/
Probable cause:
It was determined that a flexible fuel pipe ruptured in the engine number two, causing the fluid to spill into the nacelle and to ignite in contact with some elements of the engine that were