Date & Time:
Jul 1, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
04447
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Pensacola - Pensacola
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
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.
