1958 — Sep 9, USAF Douglas C47 takeoff plane crash, Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK–13

— 13 ASN. Accident descrip. USAF Douglas SC-47, Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK, 9 Sep 58
— 13 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “13 Die in Flaming C47 Crash.” 9-10-1958, 1.
— 13 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “Colonel Tells Reaction…Hospital Bed.” 9-11-1958, 2

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Registration: 43-15345
“C/n / msn: 19811
“First flight: 1944….
“Total: Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 20….
“Location: Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK
“Phase: Takeoff…
“Departure airport: Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK….
“Narrative: Crashed following engine problems.”

(Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Douglas SC-47, Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK, 9 Sep 1958. 7-20-2009 update.)

Newspapers

Sep 10: “Anchorage, Sept. 10 – Thirteen servicemen died yesterday afternoon in the flaming crash of an Air Force C47 transport plane only a few seconds after it took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base on a flight to Eielson. Seven men survived the inferno of flames that enveloped the C47 after it plunged to earth near the crowded Military Air Transport Service terminal on Elmendorf near Anchorage shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday. Twenty persons were aboard the plane when it faltered at about 100 feet in the air during the takeoff attempt, then plummeted earthward…..

“Elmendorf authorities said the 13 who died were trapped in the flame-swept rear section of the plane….As the plane hit ground, the fuselage split about one-third of the way back from the front cockpit, shearing open an escape way for the men in the forward part….” (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “13 Die in Flaming C47 Crash.” 9-10-1958, p. 1.)

Sep 10: “Sgt. Russel K. DeLine. I watched the plane take off and noticed that it appeared slightly tail-heavy as it was gaining altitude. When it got 100 to 200 feet off the ground, it started to veer to the left. The right wing dipped and then the plane started to fall. When it struck the ground it burst into flames. When I got to the scene with the crash truck, the fire trucks and ambulances were already there and survivors were being rushed to the hospital. The plane was still flaming. The accident took place about 500 yard’s to the east of the MATS terminal at the middle of the main runway at Elmendorf.” (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “Eyewitness Watched Plane Fall.” 9-10-1958, p. 1.)

Sep 11: “Anchorage, Sept. 11. (AP)….the engines failed…” (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “Colonel Tells Reaction From His Hospital Bed.” 9-11-1958, p. 2.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Douglas SC-47, Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK, 9 Sep 1958. 7-20-2009 update. Accessed 1-15-2012 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19580909-1

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “13 Die in Flaming C47 Crash.” 9-10-1958, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=67336128

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “Colonel Tells Reaction From His Hospital Bed.” 9-11-1958, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=67336143

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK. “Eyewitness Watched Plane Fall.” 9-10-1958, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=67336128