1945 — Oct 16, USAAF C-47 engine fire & crash 60 mls NW off Saipan, Mariana Isles.–  12

Compiled 12-28-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–12  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-47 engine fire/crash, 60M NW off Saipan, 10-16-1945

–12  Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash…C-47…into the Pacific Ocean: 12 Killed.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 124:
“Date:                          Tuesday 16 October 1945

“Type:                         Douglas C-47A-20-DK (DC-3)

“Operator:                   United States Army Air Force – USAAD

“Registration:              42-92929

“MSN:                         12784

….

“Crew:                         Fatalities:      / Occupants:   6

“Passengers:                Fatalities:      / Occupants: 11

“Total:                         Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 17

“Aircraft damage:       Destroyed….

“Location:                   96 km (60 mls) NW off Saipan, Mariana Islands (Pacific Ocean)

“Phase:                        En route (ENR)

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Iwo Jima Air Base, Japan [At this time, though, was a base in US hands.]

“Destination airport:   ?

“Narrative:                 

“While the airplane was descending from 9000 feet to 7500 feet, nearing the destination of Saipan, a fire erupted in the accessory section of the left engine. The main entrance door was released and the passengers and crew started putting on their life vests and parachutes. While the occupants were bailing out the fire had become uncontrollable. The engine fell off the wing but the fire continued to burn. Four crew members and eight passengers bailed out before the left wing folded back. The airplane crashed into the sea. Six occupants were picked up, five of them alive.”

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives:

“Date & Time:                                     Oct 16, 1945

“Type of aircraft:                    Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

“Operator & Registration:      USAAF 42-92929

….

“Schedule:                               Iwo Jima – Saipan

….

“Total fatalities:                      12

“Circumstances:                      Enroute, the left engine caught fire. The crew was unable to

extinguish the fire and shortly later, the engine detached. All 17 occupants decided to abandon the aircraft and to bail out when the aircraft went out of control and crashed into the ocean some 96 km northwest of Saipan Island. Five passengers were rescued while 12 other occupants were killed.”

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 124. USAAF C-47A-20-DK engine fire and loss, crash, 60M NW off Saipan, Mariana Islands, Pacific, 10-16-1945. Accessed 12-28-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19451016-1

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas C-47A-20-DK into the Pacific Ocean: 12 Killed.” Accessed 12-28-2023 at:

https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-c-47a-20-dk-pacific-ocean-12-killed