1950 — Sep 6, USAF C-54 explosion/crash after takeoff 4.M NW Osaka-Itami Air Base, Japan–11

–11  Aviation Safety Network. USF C-54 crash after takeoff 4.4M NW of Osaka-Itama AB, Japan.

–11  INS. “3 INS War Reporters Killed in Plane Crash in Japan.” Chester Times, PA. 9-7-1950, 1.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1950:

“Date:                          Wednesday 6 September 1950

“Type:                         Douglas C-54D-5-DC (DC-4)

“Registration:              42-72583

“MSN:                         10688

“First flight:                 1945

….

“Total:                         Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11

….

“Location:                   7 km (4.4 mls) NW of Osaka-Itami Air Base…Japan

“Phase:                        En route (ENR)

“Nature:                       Military

“Departure airport:      Osaka-Itami Airport…Japan

“Destination airport:    ?

“Narrative:                   Crashed shortly after takeoff. Three journalists from INS killed.”

Newspaper

Sep 9, INS: “Tokyo (INS) – Eleven persons, including three war reporters, were killed today when a C-54 cargo plane exploded and crashed shortly after leaving a base in Southern Japan.

“The Air Force identified the correspondents as:

Frank Emery, 23, International News Service war correspondent;

Charles D. Rosecrans Jr., 30, International News photos cameraman and reporter, and

Ken Inouye, 22, New York – born Japanese-American …cameraman for Telenews [INS]

“….Emery, Rosecrans and Inouye left Tokyo at noon Wednesday to return to the Korean war front. They had been in Tokyo for a brief rest.

“When the plane left Tokyo it carried 14 persons, including four crewmen. Three of these alighted at an intermediate stop.

“The 11 were killed when the plane exploded in the air shortly after leaving the Southern Japanese base at 12:15 a.m. It crashed and burned. The cause has not been learned. The bodies of the victims were taken to a hospital in Osaka, 250 miles southwest of Tokyo….” (INS. “3 INS War Reporters Killed in Plane Crash in Japan.” Chester Times, PA. 9-7-1950, p. 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1950. USF C-54 crash after takeoff 4.4M NW of Osaka-Itama AB, Japan, 9-6-1950. Accessed 9-1-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500906-0

INS [International News Service]. “3 INS War Reporters Killed in Plane Crash in Japan.” Chester Times, PA. 9-7-1950, p. 1. Accessed 9-1-2023 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/chester-times-sep-07-1950-p-1/

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