Military

An technical failure of unknown origin forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The pilot performed a belly landing on the Siakwan Island, in the Yangtze River, off Nanjing. While all occupants were uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crashed in a field in Langtai following a fuel exhaustion. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in the region of Imphal, killing all five crew members. The crew was performing a flight from Dhaka-Kurmitola AFB to Chengkung AFB, Yunnan.
Crew:
Cpt John D. Boger,
Cpl Harry T. Finley,
S/Sgt Gordon B. Gardner,
Pvt Samuel Snitzer,
Cpt Floyd F. Strohl.

Few minutes after take off from Piva Aerodrome, en route to Emirau Island, the twin engine aircraft crashed into the sea some 15 miles offshore. No trace of the aircraft nor the crew was ever found, except two dinghies and a headset.
Crew (4th Squadron):
W/Cdr Norman Lecher,
F/Lt John Wright,
F/Lt Harald Thomson,
W/O William Boughey,
F/O Barclay Harrington,
Sgt Lewis Mawson,
Sgt Rex Mossman.

Crashed for unknown reasons upon landing at Lajes Airfield. At least one crew member, F/O Russell E. Jones, was killed.

The crew was completing a flight from RAF Jurby, Isle of Man, to RAF Millom. In poor weather conditions, the twin engine aircraft impacted the slope of Mt Black Combe located near Corney. Three crew members were killed instantly while the fourth occupant later died from injuries sustained. The wreckage was spotted eight days after the crash.
Crew:
F/Sgt Arthur J. Wood, pilot,
W/O Thomas W. Johnson, air gunner,
Sgt James L. Turner, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth D. Jenkins, wireless operator.

Few minutes after take off from Algiers Airport, the twin engine aircraft went out of control and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. All 12 occupants were killed, among them the French Colonel Lionel de Marmier, faithful Officer of the General de Gaulle. He was flying back to Paris to take over the top management of Air France.
Crew:
Robert Guilloux, pilot,
Roger Henry, radio navigator,
Emile Guillot, flight engineer.
Passengers:
Col Lionel de Marmier,
Marcel Duclos.

Overshot on landing and was damaged beyond repair. No casualties.

The aircraft left Wright Patterson AFB at 2221LT on December 24 bound for Minneapolis-Wold Chamberlain Airport. At 2318LT, less than hour into the flight, the captain informed ATC he was returning due to strong head winds up to 54 mp/h. Due to the deterioration of the weather conditions at Wright Patterson AFB, the crew was vectored to Harrisburg where the cloud layer was up to 2,500 feet with a good visibility. Unfortunately, the weather conditions worsened in Harrisburg as well and it was impossible for the pilot to land. After five unsuccessful attempts, the captain reported he was short of fuel. At an altitude of 900 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of the Reesers Summit located 6 miles south of the airport, near York Haven. All four crew members and eight passengers were killed.

While flying over Arizona, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity and low clouds. The twin engine aircraft hit the slope of Mt Black Mesa located some ten miles southwest of Brenda, Arizona. The wreckage was found 12 feet from the summit and all 17 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Ben Gibson, pilot,
Lt George Winzler, copilot,
Sgt Jack Maier, flight engineer,
Pvt Frank Byrne, radio operator.
Passengers:
Pfc George Jones,
Pfc Dudley Hutton,
Pfc George Francis,
Pfc Bruce Carden,
Pfc Haig Sansian,
Pvt Leroy Thomas,
Sgt Williams Yates,
Sgt Clyde Wikadel,
Yeoman James Woodley,
Donald Brakebill,
Edgell Powell,
E. O. Milliron,
F/O A. C. Middleton.
Source & photos:
http://www.aircraftarchaeology.com/c47blackmesa.html