Date & Time:
Mar 2, 1944 at 1558 LT
Type of aircraft:
Martin 187 Baltimore
Operator:
Registration:
43-8890
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Delivery
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Wilmington - Raleigh - Jacksonville - Nassau
MSN:
7747
YOM:
1943
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total hours on type:
60
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Wilmington-New Castle County Airport on a delivery flight to Nassau. The crew made two fuel stops in Raleigh and Jacksonville. En route to Nassau, the crew encountered restricted visibility with scattered to broken cumulus with base at 2,000 feet and top at 6,000 feet. The crew deviated from the prescribed route and due to a fuel exhaustion, was forced to ditch the airplane off Dry Tortugas, west of Key West. The crew evacuated the airplane that sank within a minute. The crew was rescued about 15 minutes later by the ship SS Paulsboro. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was still registered 43-8890 and operated by the USAAF as it was supposed to be delivered to the Royal Air Force in Nassau and registered FW733.
Crew:
1st Lt Robert E. Allen, pilot,
Cpl Robert D. Arigoni.
Crew:
1st Lt Robert E. Allen, pilot,
Cpl Robert D. Arigoni.
Probable cause:
The aircraft was ditched by the crew due to a fuel exhaustion caused by a pilot error and poor judgment in navigation. At the time of the accident, the directional finding equipment was inoperative and the crew was flying under VMR mode.
Final Report:
43-8890.pdf3.18 MB
