Date & Time:
Jun 13, 1942 at 1815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Operator:
Registration:
7252
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Positioning
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Norfolk - Belém - Natal
MSN:
412
YOM:
1941
Country:
Brazil
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
7
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The crew departed NAS Norfolk, Virginia, to ferry the airplane to NAS Natal, Brasil. En route from Belém and approaching the destination, the crew encountered very bad weather conditions with heavy rain falls. In zero visibility, while flying low, the airplane impacted the water surface and crashed into the sea some 8 km off Maxaranguape, north of Natal. Seven crew members were killed and three others were rescued 18 hours later.
Crew killed were:
Ltjg C. H. Skidmore,
Ens Sherman F. Dixon,
Ens John A. Madden,
John Albert Overburg,
Julian Almer Storkson,
Rudolph F. Jordan,
Charles Andrew Hladilek.
Crew killed were:
Ltjg C. H. Skidmore,
Ens Sherman F. Dixon,
Ens John A. Madden,
John Albert Overburg,
Julian Almer Storkson,
Rudolph F. Jordan,
Charles Andrew Hladilek.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the airplane was caught by downdrafts and crashed into the sea.
