Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster X near Goose Bay: 9 killed

Date & Time: Feb 1, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
KB914
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Country:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances few minutes after its takeoff from Goose Bay. SAR operations were conducted but eventually abandoned after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. The wreckage was eventually found in a remote area on June 23, 1953.

Crash of a North American B-25J-30/32-NC Mitchell near Pitt Lake: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 29, 1953
Operator:
Registration:
5246
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Saskatoon – Vancouver
MSN:
108-37421
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
While flying northeast of Vancouver, the twin engine aircraft hit a snowy mountain slope located near Widgeon Lake, west of Pitt Lake. Debris were found few days later and all five crewmen were killed.
Crew:
Flying Officer Murray Donald Hill,
Flying Officer Jack Wayne McIntosh,
Flying Officer Ernest Dorph Thygesen, 2.

Crash of a Boeing B-29A-35-MO Superfortress in Tom-ni: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 27, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
44-27262
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kadena - Kadena
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
14
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
En route, the heavy bomber was attacked by Major Anatoly Karelin, pilot of a Soviet AF MiG-15 fighter. Ten crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed. A crew member was rescued while three others were killed in the crash. Those killed were:
M/Sgt Cleo A. Brown,
1st Lt Edward R. Francis,
1st Lt Ralph I. Phy.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the pilot of a Soviet AF MiG-15 fighter.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-10-DK in Indochina

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1953
Operator:
Registration:
348994/F-RAZF
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
MSN:
14810/26255
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Indochina. Occupant fate remains unknown.

Crash of a Beechcraft AT-7B Navigator near Fredonia

Date & Time: Jan 20, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-21132
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
1147
YOM:
1941
Location:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
An engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to reduce his altitude and attempting an emergency landing. The twin engine aircraft belly landed in a field located nine miles south of Fredonia. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Vickers Varsity T.1 in RAF Swinderby

Date & Time: Jan 19, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
WF420
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
700
YOM:
1952
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The approach to RAF Swinderby was completed in misty conditions. The airplane was too high and passed over the outer marker at an altitude of 750 feet instead of the assigned 600 feet. The pilot increased the rate of descent but could not timely arrest the descent. He advanced the power levers in an attempt to make a go around when the airplane impacted the ground short of the runway threshold. There were no casualties.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration on part of the pilot-in-command.

Crash of a Martin PBM-5G Mariner off Swatow Island: 9 killed

Date & Time: Jan 18, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
84738
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
84738
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The seaplane was engaged in a rescue mission after a USN Neptune was shot down off the Swatow Island. All 11 crew members of the Neptune were transferred on board the USS Halsey Powell. While taking off from rough seas, the airplane went out of control and crashed, killing all nine crew members including the following five USCG personnel:
Ltjg G. W. Stuart,
Alc W. J. Hammond,
Al1 C. R. Tornell,
Ao1 J. R. Bridge,
Ad3 T. W. Miller.

Crash of a Douglas C-54D-5-DC Skymaster in Stephenville: 13 killed

Date & Time: Jan 16, 1953 at 1937 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
42-72558
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Saint John’s – Stephenville
MSN:
10663
YOM:
1945
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
On final approach to Stephenville Airport by night, the four engine aircraft hit the ground and crashed 1,5 km short of runway threshold. A passenger was rescued while 13 other occupants were killed. For unknown reason, the crew was completing the approach at an insufficient altitude.

Crash of a Fairchild C-82 Packet near Châtillon-sur-Seine

Date & Time: Jan 16, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
45-57772
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
10142
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Both engines failed in flight, forcing the crew to bail out and to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a field. All six crew members were uninjured.
Probable cause:
Dual engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Vickers 607 Valetta C.1 off Agrigento: 19 killed

Date & Time: Jan 15, 1953 at 0448 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
VX562
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Luqa – Northolt
YOM:
1950
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
19
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of 1,500 feet in low visibility due to the night and rain falls, the aircraft collided with a RAF Avro 683 Lancaster GR.3 registered TX270. En route from Luqa to Northolt, the Valetta was carrying 16 passengers and a crew of three. Following the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean sea about 46 km southwest of Agrigento. All 26 occupants in both aircraft were killed.
Probable cause:
The court of inquiry decided that the weather conditions at the time were a factor with localized thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail and no blame could be attached to any individual. Evidence did reveal that though the Malta Flight Information Centre were not in possession of full information on the Lancaster's sortie, it was not a contributory cause.