Transocean Air Lines Flight 942 was a military charter flight operated by Transocean Air Lines. Military personnel commonly used Transocean planes for needed travel. The flight was charted to transfer military personnel for a rotation from New Mexico to Guam. No weather problems were predicted although multiple weather systems were spotted in California.
At 12:11 p.m. on March 20, 1953, the flight departed from Roswell, New Mexico, to Oakland, California. The flight was normal at first, but disappeared from radar at 6:36 p.m. That same time, the airplane, a Douglas DC-4, crashed in a barley field on Oakland, California, killing all 35 people on board. Rescue services attempted to transport the victims to hospitals but failed due to poor road conditions in the area. Numerous lawsuits were created due to the crash.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) examined the crash, assorting the parts in a manner which attempted to replicate parts during the crash. The investigation concluded that the probable crash reason was due to lack of control; weather problems caused ice to form in the aircraft.
Background
The flight was chartered to transfer military personnel following the company's contract with the United States Department of Defense, specifically the 509th Bombardment Wing, from the Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico for a military rotation to the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Since multiple aircraft which were used to fly the personnel were gone, the army chartered the plane to transport them.[1] Transocean planes were commonly used by military teams.[2] Before departure, a Defense Visual Flight Rules plan was approved with the Air Route Traffic Control, indicating that the flight should be flown at an altitude of at least 500 feet (150 metres) altitude by Red Airway 88 to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Green Airway 4 to Palmdale, California, Blue Airway 14 and Amber Airway 1 to Bakersfield, California, and Blue Airway 10 to Oakland, California.[3]:1 On the morning of the flight, a low-pressure center was found in southwestern Montana while a cold front was moving in an easterly direction at the southwestern portion of California. Other weather problems, including an occluded front, started shifting to northwestern California. Although no severe weather was forecasted in the area near Oakland, the weather systems caused additional turbulence.[3]:5
Aircraft
The aircraft was a Douglas DC-4 aircraft, with the serial number 36076 and the tail number N88942.[3]:1 It had a total of 5,976 total airframe hours.[4] The flight contained 30 passengers and a crew consisting of five people for a total of 35 occupants. The crew consisted of Chief Pilot Harvey Rodgers (41),[5] First Officer Frederick W. Patchett (37), Captain Herman E. Hum (41), and stewardesses Velma I. Sandridge and Lucille M. Chapman.[3]:1 Chief Rodgers had "considerable" flying experience according to the CAB; his associates added that he strictly adhered to airline regulations and recommended other flight crews to do the same.[3]:5
Flight
At 12:11 p.m. on March 20, 1953, the flight departed from Roswell, New Mexico, to Oakland, California. The trip was expected to take six hours and thirty-five minutes, with sufficient fuel for 10 hours. The weight at the time of takeoff was 63,817 pounds (28,947 kilograms), with an allowable gross weight of 73,000lb (33,000kg). After takeoff, the flight was normal. At 2:51 p.m. near Winslow, Arizona, the plane changed to Instrumental flight rules at the same height. At 5:32 p.m. the flight reported that it was within the vicinity of Fresno, California, with a height of 8,000 feet (2,400m). At 5.44 p.m. still over Fresno, the flight reported to the communications center that it was at an altitude of 7,000ft (2,100m). Three minutes later, after passing Evergreen, the flight gained clearance to transfer to the Oakland Approach Control. Over the next hour, the flight was told to maintain its altitude and then lower it. From 6:21 p.m. to 6:36 p.m., the flight lowered its altitude to 1,000ft (300m). After the flight connected to communication centers in Newark, it disappeared from radar.[6][3]:1
Accident
I saw men with their clothes on fire—some on the ground—some trying to get. up, staggering, falling back into the flames.
Two minutes later, at 6:38 p.m., the aircraft was found to have crashed into a barley field.[3]:2 The investigation showed that it had crashed on its right wingtip first, with a vertically inclined position. The aircraft flipped over multiple times and disintegrated. Debris was scattered over an 800ft (240m) long area and a 300ft (91m) wide area. The impact force caused the aircraft to break into pieces. A part of the left wing was found 634ft (193m) from the accident.[3]:2 The right aileron was broken into five parts by impact.[3]:3
Aftermath
After the accident, rescue services went to the crash site. The services could see bodies burning within the partially intact fuselage. Rescuers sent victims to a nearby hospital, but poor roads in the area hampered efforts.[8] Ambulances came from four East Bay hospitals.[2] All 35 people on board died.[9] Responders continued identifying crash victims beyond the crash.[10] Newspapers around the country shared information about the accident. In New Mexico, funeral services were held for the fatalities. Since the men were not killed in battle, they were, in turn, not included in Korean War casualty lists.[1] The accident caused lawsuits; a lawsuit from a relative of the victim of the crash was dismissed.[11] Another lawsuit was made by the relative but was dismissed again.[12] Transocean Air Lines went bankrupt in 1962.[7]
Investigation
Parts were examined by the Civil Aeronautics Board, with structural components sorted in a manner which reproduced the possible location the parts were placed in the aircraft. After careful consideration, no means of failure was spotted.[3]:2 The aircraft was also not found to have struck any object. The right aileron trim tab was placed in a neutral position while the pilot's aileron trim tab was placed in an extreme down position. The wheel mechanism was found to be immovable; due to major damage in the aircraft, the investigation could not know if the de-icing system was used during the flight. The wing fillets and lower fuselage compartment doors were never opened during the flight. All carbon dioxide bottles were found unused.[3]:3–4 The investigation finished with the findings that the airline, the aircraft, and the crew were properly certificated; numerous weather problems arose, including icing, causing the aircraft to become uncontrollable; witnesses saw the aircraft strike the ground although no warnings from the aircraft were issued; and all ground navigational facilities were operating normally and no malfunction of the aircraft's control systems were found during the flight. The cause of the crash was due to loss of control of the aircraft.[3]:8–9
↑ "Investigation is Launched". The Times Record (Maine). March 21, 1953. Retrieved January 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com. Alameda county officers said bodies could be seen burning within the portion of "fuselage" that "remained intact; Ambulances vainly rushed the victims to a nearby hospital, and poor roads in the crash area hampered efforts to evacuate bodies
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