Date & Time:
Jan 21, 1982 at 2104 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
49148/F-YEGA
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Nouméa - Nouméa
MSN:
27374
YOM:
1944
Country:
New Caledonia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
7
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training flight at Nouméa-La Tontouta consisting of touch-and-go maneuvers. After takeoff, while climbing by night, the crew initiated a turn when the four engine airplane struck the slope of Mt Kokoreta at an altitude of 1,002 meters and located 10 km east of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and all seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
LdV Guy Celton, pilot,
MP Marcel Crusson, copilot,
MP Monroe Podlesnik, mechanic,
1st M Bernard Lefuraut, mechanic,
1st M Claude Wullaert, navigator,
1st M Jean Decoudu, electronics,
M Paul Gavard-Pivet, mechanic.
Crew:
LdV Guy Celton, pilot,
MP Marcel Crusson, copilot,
MP Monroe Podlesnik, mechanic,
1st M Bernard Lefuraut, mechanic,
1st M Claude Wullaert, navigator,
1st M Jean Decoudu, electronics,
M Paul Gavard-Pivet, mechanic.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain consecutive to an error on part of the crew who mistakenly initiated a turn opposite to the published procedures for departure.
