Date & Time:
Mar 11, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
53
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Kunming – Dinjan
MSN:
4904
YOM:
1942
Country:
China
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 was performing a cargo flight from Kunming to Dinjan with a load of tungsten on board. Due to the presence of Japanese forces along the normal route, the crew decided to divert and to follow another route passing over the Pianma Pass. In low visibility due to snow falls, the captain reduced his altitude to maintain a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located near the Pianma Pass, at the border between China and Burma. All three crew were killed. Some debris of the aircraft were found by hikers in October 1996.
