1944 – Jan 24, USAAF C-60 & Beech AT-7 collide 5M NW over Farmersville, LA     —     10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-15-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Associated Press. “Ten Killed In Collision.” Del Rio News-Herald, TX. 1-25-1944, p. 2.

–10  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-60A collides with AT-7 near Farmersville LA, Jan 24.

–10  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 666.

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944:

“Date and Time:          Monday 24 January 1944; 09:09

“Type:                         Lockheed C-60A-1.LO Lodestar

“Owner/operator:        United States Army Air Force – USAAF

“Registration:              42-32203

“MSN:                         18-2293

….“Fatalities               Fatalities: 6 / Occupants 6

“Aircraft Damage:      Destroyed, written off

“Category:                   Accident

“Location:                   8 km NW of Farmersville, LA – USA

“Phase:                        En Route

“Nature:                      Military

….

Narrative:                    A total of fourteen trainer aircraft departed Selman AAF on individual

navigation training missions to Hugo, TX and return. At an altitude of about 2000 feet the Lockheed C-60 collided with a Beechcraft AT-7 Navigator (43-33303). Both aircraft crashed, killing all aboard.”

 

Mireles: “At 0909, a Lockheed C-60 and a Beech AT-7 collided in mid­air and crashed five miles northwest of Farmersville, Louisiana, killing ten fliers…. The two subject airplanes, and twelve other trainers, took off from Selman Army Air Field, Monroe, Louisiana, on individual navigation training/simulated combat missions to Hugo, Texas, and return. The two airplanes were flying at about 2,000 feet indicated altitude when the collision oc­curred. There were no witnesses to the actual colli­sion but several witnesses in the air and on the ground reported that both airplanes were in flames as they spun to earth out of control. No crewmembers were able to parachute to safety.”  (Mireles 2006, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 666.)

 

Newspaper

 

Jan 24, AP: “Monroe, La., Jan. 24 (AP) – Ten men from Selman Field were killed today when two navigation training planes collided near Farmersville, 30 miles north of here, and plummeted to earth in flames.” (AP. “Ten Killed In Collision.” Del Rio News-Herald, TX. 1-25-1944, p. 2.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Ten Killed In Collision.” Del Rio News-Herald, TX. 1-25-1944, p. 2. Accessed 4-15-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/del-rio-news-herald-jan-25-1944-p-2/

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944. USAAF C-60A collides with AT-7 near Farmersville LA, Jan 24, 1944. Accessed 4-15-2024 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/340362

 

Mireles, Anthony J.  Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2:  July 1943 – July 1944).  Jefferson, NC:  McFarland and Co., 2006.