Date & Time:
Apr 9, 1952
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
42-93809
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Otis – Niagara Falls
MSN:
13762
YOM:
1944
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Otis AFB, while climbing in clouds at an altitude between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, the VC-47 collided with a USAF Lockheed F-94B Starfire registered 51-5407 and carrying a crew of two. Both airplanes went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a field located few miles from the airbase. All 12 crew members on both aircraft were killed. It appears that the collision occurred while both aircraft were flying in clouds and each crew failed to see each other.
Douglas VC-47A crew:
Lt Col William C. Bryson,
Maj Benjamin C. Beckman,
Maj Leland A. Berg,
Cpt Lane S. Hendricks,
Cpt Clifton Foster,
Cpt Richard E. Heder,
Cpt William H. Erwin,
T/Sgt William D. Pollock,
T/Sgt Deane B. Cooper,
Afc Harry E. Hardesty.
Lockheed F-94B Starfire crew:
Cpt Charles E. Smoke, pilot,
1st Lt Thaddeus C. Kulpinski, radar observer.
Douglas VC-47A crew:
Lt Col William C. Bryson,
Maj Benjamin C. Beckman,
Maj Leland A. Berg,
Cpt Lane S. Hendricks,
Cpt Clifton Foster,
Cpt Richard E. Heder,
Cpt William H. Erwin,
T/Sgt William D. Pollock,
T/Sgt Deane B. Cooper,
Afc Harry E. Hardesty.
Lockheed F-94B Starfire crew:
Cpt Charles E. Smoke, pilot,
1st Lt Thaddeus C. Kulpinski, radar observer.
