Date & Time:
Mar 31, 1956 at 0520 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
National Air Operators
Registration:
VT-DCM
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Asansol – Bagdogra
MSN:
10230
YOM:
1943
Country:
India
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew left Asansol-Burnpur Airport at 0420LT on a cargo flight to Bagdogra. En route, weather conditions worsened and while cruising 48 km southwest of its intended destination at low height, the airplane encountered turbulences, went out of control and crashed in a prairie. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
A downdraught which forced down the fully loaded aircraft to the ground when it was flying under exceptionally severe weather conditions below 1,000 feet, and possibly at a few hundred feet above the terrain.
