Date & Time:
Mar 4, 1949 at 1659 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
44-9086
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wiesbaden – Berlin
MSN:
27312
YOM:
1945
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
En route from Wiesbaden-Erbenheim to Berlin-Tempelhof, taking part to the Berlin Airlift, an engine caught fire. The captain ordered his crew and both passengers to bail out. After these four people evacuated the cabin, he reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing in a field. Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed in flames in a field located in Heroldishausen, northwest of Bad Langensalza. The aircraft was destroyed and the captain was killed. The four other occupants were uninjured.
Probable cause:
It was determined that an hydraulic line failed in flight, causing the fluid to flow into the engine and to catch fire while contacting high temperature parts of the engine.
