Date & Time:
Dec 20, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
17179
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Andersen - Andersen
MSN:
43346
YOM:
1944
Country:
Northern Mariana Islands
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The crew left Andersen AFB on a SAR mission following the disappearance three days earlier of a USN Consolidated PB4Y-2S Privateer that was completing a meteorological mission in the typhoon Doris. In flight, the R4D-8 hit the slope of the volcano located in the center of the Agrihan Island and disintegrated on impact, killing all 10 crew members. The wreckage was found six days later, on December 26. For unknown reason, the airplane was flying at an insufficient altitude and the pilots failed to distinguish the volcano.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
