Crash of a Douglas C-47B-30-DK Dakota IV in Jakarta

Date & Time: May 29, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
KN501
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
16279/33027
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After touchdown, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance, overran, lost its undercarriage, went down an embankment and came to rest into a ditch. All occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
It appears that the brakes failed after touchdown.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-20-DK Dakota IV in Kawdut

Date & Time: May 28, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
KK188
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
15441/26886
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Enroute, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed in a prairie and skidded for several yards before coming to a halt. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Crash of an Avro 685 York I in Mauripur AFB

Date & Time: May 23, 1946
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
MW191
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Northolt – Mauripur
MSN:
MW191
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On touchdown, an undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft skidded on its belly for several yards before coming to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
It was reported that the approach configuration was wrong and the pilot landed hard, causing an undercarriage to fail.

Crash of a Beechcraft C-45F Expeditor in Manhattan: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 20, 1946 at 2010 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
44-47570
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Lake Charles - Newark
MSN:
7977
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
While overflying New York city in poor visibility due to fog, the crew started the descent to Newark when the twin engine aircraft hit the 58th floor of the Bank of Manhattan Building located 40 Wall Street. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and all four crew members were killed. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the building or on the ground.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-1-DK in Birmani Para: 11 killed

Date & Time: May 17, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
43-48308
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Yangon – Barrackpore
MSN:
14124/25569
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The airplane was carrying the remains of allied prisoners of war (PoW) from Rangoon to Calcutta-Barrackpore. The pilot radioed Barrackpore at 06:10 UTC to report he had passed over Akyab at 05:30 UTC, was flying on instruments, and expected to arrive at Barrackpore at 08:00 UTC. At 06:15 UTC he called for weather, which Barrackpore had to send twice due to heavy atmospheric interference. At 07:05 UTC the pilot mistakenly responded to a call from Barrackpore to another aircraft and said he had nothing for Barrackpore. This was the last contact with the flight. The wreckage was discovered in January 2012 by the Indian paramilitary Assam Rifles. The site was found after a four-month search operation.
Source: http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19460517-1

Crash of a Boeing B-17G-95-VE Flying Fortress in Hamilton AFB: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 16, 1946 at 0200 LT
Operator:
Registration:
44-85510
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Clovis - Mines Field - Hamilton
MSN:
8417
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Aircraft took off from Clovis Army Air Field in New Mexico, bound for Hamilton AAF in Marin County. The plane stopped at Mines Field in Los Angeles, refueled, retook to the skies at 2317LT and was due to arrive at Hamilton at 0117LT in the morning, but the pilot, according to the Army investigation, lost his way while trying to locate Hamilton Field. At around 0200LT in the morning, and five minutes from its destination, the pilot radioed Hamilton Field for radar assistance in landing. But, shortly after 0200LT, the engines of the bomber, starved of fuel, quit, and the bomber smashed into a 1300-foot peak of White's Hill, some nine miles short of the airfield. Striking the hill only six feet below its top, the plane bounced over the top, thudded across the rough terrain, and slid to a grinding halt that churned up earth and rock for more than 100 yards, and scattering wreckage for 300 yards. Dazed, confounded, and startled by the crash, the pilot and co-pilot extricated themselves out of the wreckage of his once-proud aircraft. Still trapped in the wreckage were five of their crew. Stumbling and clawing their way through the morning darkness towards the city lights they saw in the distant, they reached a retirement home, from which they alerted the airfield. Killed instantly in the First Lieutenant Milton M. Souza, 25, of Santa Clara. CA. and Master Sergeant E. B. Nichols, of Clovis, NM. Rescuers chopped a hole through the wreckage with an axe to extricate a Lieutenant Colonel from the fuselage. He was then strapped on a litter with his parachute shrouds and brought down the hillside. It took a total of six hours to free the five trapped men from the plane, two of whom were seriously injured.
Source:
http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Marin_B-17_crash.htm
Probable cause:
The accident investigation concluded that: "The pilot, due to lack of judgment, common sense and apparent disregard and/or unfamiliarity with facilities available to him, failed to properly follow instructions in preparing for let down. It is believed that the accident was 100% pilot error."

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-35-DK in Nichols AFB

Date & Time: May 7, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
44-77157
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
16471/33489
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed on takeoff. No casualties.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-30-DK Dakota III in RAF Desborough

Date & Time: May 7, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
KG741
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
13840/25285
YOM:
1944
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The final approach was completed at a too low altitude, causing the aircraft to hit the ground short of runway threshold. On impact, all undercarriage were sheared off. The aircraft crash landed on its belly and skidded for several yards before coming to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
Too low approach caused the aircraft to hit the ground short of runway threshold.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK Dakota III in Simara

Date & Time: May 7, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
KG521
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
12925
YOM:
1944
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After touchdown, the aircraft encountered difficulties to stop. It overran and went down and embankment before coming to a halt. While the aircraft was destroyed, all 16 occupants were rescued.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the crew adopted a wrong approach configuration, causing the aircraft to land too far down the runway.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-90-DL near Heidelberg

Date & Time: May 6, 1946
Operator:
Registration:
43-15676
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20142
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Enroute, the aircraft collided with another airplane (identification unknown). The crew decided to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a field. All occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was destroyed.
Probable cause:
In flight collision.