Baden-Württemberg | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The aircraft lost height following the engine failure and crashed on the wooded Mt Hoher Ochsenkopf (1,054 meters high) located about 5 km west of Raumünzach. All four occupants were killed.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar in Edelweiler: 20 killed

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1955 at 1420 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

53-3222

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Dreux - Stuttgart

MSN:

11238

YOM:

1953

Flight number:

Chalk 8

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Circumstances:

A group of nine Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar left Dreux, Eure-et-Loir, on a flight to Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport in southwest Germany under flight code 'Chalk'. Enroute, the pilot of C-119 registered 53-3222 (Chalk 8) called the leader and informed the rest of the formation he lost his left engine and elected to land asap. While trying to leave the formation, 53-3222 made a turn to the left when the top of its empennage hit the base of the cockpit of C-119 registered 53-7841 (Chalk 9). Both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area and a field located near Edelweiler. Both aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 66 crew members on both aircraft were killed.

Probable cause:

Failure of the left engine in flight. It was also determined that the collision was due to the wrong position of 53-7841 because his crew failed to respect the assigned altitude in the formation. In conclusion, the board finds that the primary cause of the accident was pilot error. It is the opinion of the board that if the left wingman (aircraft 53-7841) had held his proper position instead of dropping down and out, the accident would not have occurred. It was established that just prior to the accident, aircraft 7841 had overrun his element leader. Evidence was found that the right wingman (aircraft 53-3222) was in process of losing his left engine and was given instructions to leave the formation. He was in the process of leaving the formation by descending and turning to the left according to normal procedures when the collision occurred. After considering all the available evidence, the board feels that the accident would not have happened if engine malfunction had not occurred, causing the right wingman to break formation. The board found evidence of supervisory error in that the pilot responsible for the accident had not had proper crew rest and his copilot’s experience was extremely low.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar in Edelweiler: 46 killed

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1955 at 1420 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

53-7841

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Dreux - Stuttgart

MSN:

11258

YOM:

1953

Flight number:

Chalk 9

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Crash of a Boeing B-29A-45-BN Superfortress near Owen: 10 killed

Date & Time: Jun 10, 1955 at 2330 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Operator:

Registration:

44-61780

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Molesworth – Stuttgart

MSN:

11257

YOM:

1944

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Circumstances:

The crew was performing a flight from RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, to Stuttgart. While approaching Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport by night, the crew was contacted by ATC and rerouted to Fürstenfeldbruck Airbase near Munich due to insufficient visibility caused by foggy conditions. Few minutes later, while cruising at low height, the airplane hit the slope of Mt Teckberg located about 1,5 km east of Owen. All ten crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar in Weinheim: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 15, 1953 at 1655 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-8241

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Frankfurt - Frankfurt

MSN:

10789

YOM:

1951

Location:

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Circumstances:

The C-119 was part of a combined exercise with 17 other similar machines that left Frankfurt-Main Airbase in the afternoon. While cruising at an altitude of 5,000 feet, another C-119 registered 51-8235 was hit by a Republic F-84 Thunderjet registered 51-628. His pilot was also taking part to a combined exercise with 11 other Thunderjet. Following the impact, these two aircraft went into a dive and hit the C-119 registered 51-8241. All three aircraft crashed in a field located in Weinheim. All six crew members on board the C-119 registered 51-8235 were killed while on board the 51-8241, two crew members were killed and four others were rescued. The pilot of the fighter was able to bail out and landed safely.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar in Weinheim: 6 killed

Date & Time: May 15, 1953 at 1655 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-8235

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Frankfurt - Frankfurt

MSN:

10783

YOM:

1951

Location:

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Circumstances:

The C-119 was part of a combined exercise with 17 other similar machines that left Frankfurt-Main Airbase in the afternoon. While cruising at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the aircraft was hit by a Republic F-84 Thunderjet registered 51-628. His pilot was also taking part to a combined exercise with 11 other Thunderjet. Following the impact, both aircraft went into a dive and hit a second C-119 (registered 51-8241) flying in the same formation and also carrying a crew of six. All three aircraft crashed in a field located in Weinheim. All six crew members on board the C-119 registered 51-8235 were killed while on the second one, two were killed and four were rescued. The pilot of the fighter was able to bail out and landed safely.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-90-DL near Heidelberg

Date & Time: May 6, 1946

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-15676

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

20142

YOM:

1944

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Circumstances:

Enroute, the aircraft collided with another airplane (identification unknown). The crew decided to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a field. All occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was destroyed.

Probable cause:

In flight collision.

Crash of a Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman in Neckargartach

Date & Time: Dec 15, 1945

Type of aircraft:

Noorduyn Norseman

Operator:

Registration:

44-70502

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

767

YOM:

1945

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Crashed in Neckargartach, north of Heilbronn. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot Jack M. Ealy was injured.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK in Bad Herrenalb: 26 killed

Date & Time: Nov 1, 1945 at 1530 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

42-93041

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Bovingdon - Schleissheim

MSN:

12909

YOM:

1944

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Circumstances:

The crew was flying on autopilot under the cloud layer when the weather conditions worsened. The captain decided to gain height and increased engine power to do so. Shortly later, while climbing in clouds, the aircraft hit the slope of a hill and crashed in a dense wooded area. All four crew members and 22 passengers were killed while four others were seriously injured.

Probable cause:

It appears the crew was not aware of the mountains and different obstacles in the region and the visibility was reduced at the time of the accident. Also, inefficient weather briefing on part of the local weather station may have been considered as a contributory factor.