Date & Time:
Dec 5, 1945 at 1950 LT
Type of aircraft:
Martin PBM Mariner
Operator:
Registration:
59225
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Banana River - Banana River
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
13
Crew fatalities:
13
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
The crew left Banana River NAS at 1927LT on a SAR mission, looking for five TBM Avenger that did not return to their base. Three minutes after departure, the contact was already lost. Twenty minutes later, while cruising at low height, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a huge explosion into the Sargasso Sea, about 30 miles off New Smyrna, Bahamas. On site, the rescuers did not find any survivors among the 13 occupants.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the crew may have lost his situational awareness or suffered a spatial disorientation and lost control of the aircraft while flying by night over the sea, without any ground visual references.
