1951 — June 3, USAF C-82 Flying Boxcar hit by lightning/crashed, New Boston, TX –all 10

— 10 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Crash of Fairchild C-82A, New Boston: 10 Killed.
— 10 Kebabjian, Richard. Accident Details. June 03, 1951…USAF… PlaneCrashInfo.com.
— 10 Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, TX). “Lightning Strikes Plane; 10 Die,” June 4, 1951.
— 8 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, 03 Jun 1951.

Narrative Information

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Crash of Fairchild C-82A, New Boston: 10 Killed:

“….
“Total fatalities: 10
“Circumstances: En route, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground
and crashed in a field located 2,5 miles southwest of New Boston. The
aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 10 crew members were killed.

“Probable cause: At the time of the accident, the aircraft was flying in poor weather
conditions and it is believed the aircraft became uncontrollable after being struck by lightning.

Kebabjian/ PlaneCrashInfo.com “Accident Details”:
“Date: June 03, 1951
“Time: 1345
“Location: New Boston, Texas
“Operator: Military – U.S. Air Force
….
“Route: Fort Campbell – Lawton
“AC Type: Fairchild C-82
“Registration: 45-57761
cn / in: 10131
“Aboard: 10 (passengers: 0 crew: 10)
“Fatalities: 10 (passengers: 0 crew: 10)
“Ground: 0
“Summary: Struck by lightning and crashed.”

Newspaper

June 4, Associated Press: “New Boston. (AP). A flying box car roared out of the clouds Sunday, disintegrating as horrified citizens watched and became a flaming pyre for its 10 passengers. The CAA [Civil Aviation Administration] at Texarkana said the plane was from Campbell Air Force base at “Hopkinsville, Ky. It had called the CAA with a position report and flight plan to Fort Sill. Okla., at 1:26 p.m. shortly before it plunged from the sky.…the plane’s motors seemed to be at full throttle as it came out of the clouds nose first.” (Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Lightning Strikes Plane; 10 Die,” June 4, 1951.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Fairchild C-82A-FA Packet, SSW of New Boston, TX, 03 Jun 1951. Accessed 2-17-2009:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19510603-3

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Fairchild C-82A-FA Packet in , New Boston: 10 Killed.” Accessed 6-25-2023 at:
http://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-fairchild-c-82a-fa-packet-new-boston-10-killed

Kebabjian, Richard. Accident Details. June 03, 1951…USAF… PlaneCrashInfo.com. Accessed 6-25-2023 at: https://www.planecrashinfo.com/1951/1951-29.htm

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX. “Lightning Strikes Plane; 10 Die,” June 4, 1951. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfviewer.aspx?img=16807177