Date & Time:
May 24, 1942 at 1135 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed 12 Electra Junior
Operator:
Registration:
42-22249
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Bolling Field – Montreal – Presque Isle – Houlton – Montreal – Bolling Field
MSN:
1273
YOM:
1942
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
4
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Bolling Field AFB (Washington DC) on May 23 bound for Houlton, Maine, with intermediate stops in Montreal and Presque Isle. The crew departed Montreal at 0934LT on May 24 with a crew of two and four passengers, among them Lt Col Louis Gimbel. While cruising at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the crew requested to climb to 7,000 feet and confirmed an ETA at 1134LT. In poor weather conditions, the crew was unable to locate the airports of Presque Isle and Houlton. Flying too low in low visibility, the airplane collided with trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located in the Howe Brook Mountain Range, between Presque Isle and Houlton. The airplane was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Clarence Allen Wright, pilot,
S/Sgt Frederick J. Taylor, flight engineer.
Passengers:
Lt Col Louis Stanley Gimbel Jr.,
Cpt John D. Franciscus,
Cpt Gilbert M. Herback,
2nd Lt Earl R. Wilkinson.
Sources & photos: http://www.mewreckchasers.com/C40.html
Crew:
1st Lt Clarence Allen Wright, pilot,
S/Sgt Frederick J. Taylor, flight engineer.
Passengers:
Lt Col Louis Stanley Gimbel Jr.,
Cpt John D. Franciscus,
Cpt Gilbert M. Herback,
2nd Lt Earl R. Wilkinson.
Sources & photos: http://www.mewreckchasers.com/C40.html
Probable cause:
The board of inquiry was unable to determine a cause, but listed weather and pilot inexperience under instrument conditions as factors. Controlled flight into terrain.
