![]() A US Air Forxe Douglas C-118A Liftmaster, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 13 July 1956 |
Summary | Stall during takeoff |
Site | ![]() |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Douglas C-118A Liftmaster |
Operator | ![]() |
Registration | 53-3301 |
Flight origin | McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, United States |
Stopover | Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Canada [1] |
Destination | RAF Burtonwood [2] (or RAF Lakenheath [3] ), United Kingdom |
Occupants | 66 |
Passengers | 56 |
Crew | 10 |
Fatalities | 46 |
Survivors | 20 |
United States Air Force Flight 441/13 was a Douglas C-118A Liftmaster, which crashed on July 13, 1956, near the McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. The accident resulted in the deaths of 46 people and was the first fatal accident involving the Douglas Liftmaster.
The incident involved a Douglas C-118A Liftmaster (Douglas Liftmaster – the military version of the civilian Douglas DC-6) from the 29th Military Airlift Squadron, with the tail number 53-3301 (or 53-3301A, construction number 44672, serial number 639), which had been delivered to the US Army on December 12, 1955. [4]
The aircraft crew consisted of 10 members: [3] [5]
The Aircraft with the 53-3301 registration was performing transport flight 441/13 [3] to transfer a group of military personnel to England. The cabin carried 41 American aviators, 9 foreign officers, and 6 civilians, including two children—a boy and a girl—traveling with their mother, making a total of 56 passengers. A thunderstorm with hail and numerous lightning strikes was ongoing at the airbase and in its vicinity when the "Liftmaster," with 66 people on board, took off from the runway in a southern direction. However, the crew did not make further contact after takeoff. As later recounted by one of the passenger-pilots, Tom Hamrick, the plane began to gain altitude but suddenly dropped into an "air pocket." The pilots tried to level the aircraft, but at 15:37, it crashed into a pine forest three miles from the runway. After crashing through the trees for approximately 300 yards (270 m), the plane disintegrated, scattering debris over a distance of half to one mile. No fire occurred at the crash site. [6] [2]
At 16:00, when the air traffic controllers were unable to contact the aircraft, they waited an additional two hours, unsure whether it had actually taken off, before issuing a distress signal. The crash was witnessed by soldiers from Fort Dix, who rushed to the scene, but mud and severe weather conditions significantly hampered their progress. Some passengers, having freed themselves from the wreckage, made their way to the road, where they were spotted by military police, who then reported the incident. [6] [2]
Rescue operations were complicated by the difficult terrain and the ongoing thunderstorm, so initially, the injured were evacuated on foot. Later, the path to the aircraft was cleared using bulldozers, and a total of 250 people, including medical personnel, participated in the rescue efforts. Forty-three people died at the scene, two others died later that day in hospitals, and one more died subsequently. The total death toll was 46 people: 8 crew members (only the flight engineer survived from the flight crew) and 38 passengers, including two women and both children. According to the autopsy report, the victims died from fractures, though only six had their seatbelts break. Many survivors were unable to unfasten their seatbelts on their own and remained seated until rescuers arrived. [6]
The cause of the crash was determined to be a wind shear during the thunderstorm, which led to a loss of altitude. [1]
American Airlines Flight 1420 was a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Little Rock National Airport in the United States. On June 1, 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating as Flight 1420 overran the runway upon landing in Little Rock and crashed. Nine of the 145 people aboard were immediately killed—the captain and eight passengers. Two more passengers died in the hospital in the following weeks.
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California.
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range commercial transport market. Douglas built over 700, and many still fly in cargo, military, and wildfire control roles.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1955.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1976.
Pan Am Flight 759 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Miami to San Diego, with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas. On July 9, 1982, the Boeing 727 flying this route crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner after being forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff. All 145 on board, as well as eight people on the ground, were killed.
Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 was a regularly scheduled flight from New Orleans to New York City that crashed on June 24, 1975 while on approach to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 of the 124 people on board. The crash was determined to be caused by wind shear caused by a microburst, but the failure of the airport and the flight crew to recognize the severe weather hazard was also a contributing factor.
USAir Flight 1016 was a regularly scheduled flight in the southeastern United States, between Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 2, 1994, the flight encountered heavy thunderstorms and microburst-induced windshear while attempting to land, and crashed into heavy trees and a private residence near the airport. The crash and ensuing fire caused 37 fatalities and seriously injured 20 others.
United Air Lines Flight 409 was a scheduled flight which originated in New York City, New York. The final flight destination was San Francisco, California, with stops in Chicago, Denver and Salt Lake City. The aircraft operating the service, a Douglas DC-4 propliner, registration N30062, crashed into Medicine Bow Peak, near Laramie, Wyoming, on October 6, 1955, killing all 66 people on board. The victims included five female members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and military personnel. At the time, this was the deadliest airline crash in the history of American commercial aviation. Another 66 lives had been lost earlier that year in the March 22 crash in Hawaii of a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster military transport aircraft, and 66 had also died in the mid-air collision of two United States Air Force C-119G Flying Boxcars over West Germany on August 11, placing the three crashes in a three-way tie as the deadliest aviation incidents in 1955.
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the United States Air Force (USAF). The aircraft also served with airlift and air mobility wings of the Air Force Reserve (AFRES), later renamed Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), the Air National Guard (ANG) and, later, one air mobility wing of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) dedicated to C-141, C-5, C-17 and KC-135 training.
Southern Airways Flight 242 was a flight from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, with a stop in Huntsville, Alabama. On April 4, 1977, it executed a forced landing on Georgia State Route 381 in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, United States, after suffering hail damage and losing thrust on both engines in a severe thunderstorm.
Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 (VRC-30) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy tasked with carrier onboard delivery. The squadron was nicknamed "Providers" and was based at Naval Air Station North Island, California (USA). In contrast to most other U.S. Navy squadrons, VRC-30 consisted of five separately named detachments, which were assigned to different carrier air wings.
The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aircraft in history.
The C-53 Crash on the Gauli Glacier in the Bernese Alps, (Switzerland) on 19 November 1946 was a turning point in alpine rescue and an international media event. The aircraft, coming from Tulln, Austria, bound for Pisa, Italy, collided with the Gauli Glacier in poor visibility. On board were eight passengers, among them two high-ranking officers of the U.S. armed forces, four women, and one 11-year-old girl. The crew consisted of four men. Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
The 1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash was an accident involving a Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster of the United States Navy which crashed into a mountain peak in Hawaii on 22 March 1955, killing all 66 people on board. At the time, it was the worst crash involving any variant of the Douglas DC-6 airliner the second-worst aviation accident in U.S. history, and one of the worst air accidents anywhere in history, and it equaled the 11 August mid-air collision of two United States Air Force C-119G Flying Boxcars over West Germany and the 6 October United Air Lines Flight 409 crash as the deadliest air accident of 1955. It remains the worst air disaster in the history of Hawaii and the deadliest accident involving a heavier-than-air aircraft in the history of United States naval aviation.
The 1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance involved a Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster of the United States Navy which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on 10 October 1956 with the loss of all 59 people on board.
The crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 318 was an accident involving a Douglas DC-3 of the American airline Delta Air Lines 13 miles (21 km) east of Marshall, Texas, United States on May 17, 1953, killing all but one of the 20 people on board.