1948 — Nov 4, Pacific Alaska Air Express C-47 lost, presumably off Cape Spencer, AK–  17

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 20, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–17  Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Pacific Alaska Air Express, 4 Nov 1948.

–17  Civil Aeronautics Board. Preliminary Statement…Pacific Alaska Air Express DC-3…

–17  Liefer, G. P. Broken Wings: Tragedy & Disaster in Alaska Civil Aviation. 2003, p. 51.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1948:

“Date:                          Thursday 4 November 1948

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

“Operator:                   Pacific Alaska Air Express

“Registration:              NC66637

“MSN:                         11800

“First flight:                1943

….

“Crew:                         Fatalities:   2 / Occupants:   2

“Passengers:                Fatalities: 15 / Occupants: 15

“Total:                         Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 17

“Aircraft damage:       Missing

….

“Location:                   off Cape Spencer, AK

“Phase:                        En route (ENR)

“Nature:                      Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger

“Departure airport:      Yakutat Airport, AK…USA

“Destination airport:   Annette Island Airport, AK…USA

“Narrative:

 

“At approximately 22:26, November 3, 1948. the flight departed Anchorage for Seattle via Homer, Yakutat, and Annette Island, Alaska. The flight arrived at Yakutat at 02:57. At Yakutat an instrument flight plan was filed specifying a cruising altitude of 10,000 feet to Annette Island. At 04:07, the flight took off from Yakutat. A position report was received from the flight by Gustavus Radio at 05:10 to the effect that the flight was cruising at 10,000 feet, 146 miles southeast of Yakutat, and that it estimated arriving over Sitka, Alaska, at 05:44. This was the last communication received from the flight. The plane was declared missing and the wreckage was never found.”

Civil Aeronautics Board. Preliminary Statement…Pacific Alaska Air Express DC-3…:

“On November 4, 1948, a Pacific Alaska Air Express DC-3, NC-66637, was reported missing between Yakutat, Alaska, and Seattle, Washington. The aircraft had not been located since that date, and the fifteen passengers and two crew members are presumed lost.

“At approximately 2236, November 3, 1948, the aircraft departed Anchorage for Seattle, Washington, via Homer, Yakutat, and Annette Island, Alaska, with a crew consisting of A. R. Kinnear, pilot, and R. A. Kinnear, pilot, and R. A. Wilson, copilot. The flight arrived at Yakutat, Alaska, at 0257, November 4, 1948, after a routine flight. The aircraft was refueled at Yakutat, all tanks were filled to capacity. Approximately at 0407, NC-66637 took off from Yakutat with the same crew, fifteen passengers, 800 gallons of fuel, and as far as is known, no cargo. A position report was received from the flight by Gustavus radio at 0510 reporting over the Cape Spencer intersection (146 miles southeast of Yakutat) and estimating Sitka (240 miles southeast of Yakutat) at 0544. This was the last communication received from the flight.

“Approximately one hour after the flight was due over Sitka, an emergency warning was issued by C.A.A. communications to all radio stations between Anchorage and Seattle. Also alerted was the Civil Aeronautics Board, the 10th Air and Sea Rescue Squadron, and the Coast Guard Air Facility. At 0700 the Coast Guard Air Facility dispatched a search plane to the Cape Spencer intersection area; however, there was no trace of the missing aircraft. Subsequently, from November 4 to November 23 an extensive search of the Sitka and Yakutat area was made by the Coast Buard and the 10th Air and Sea Rescue Squadron….To date no evidence of he aircraft or of the survivors has been found….”

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1948. Pacific Alaska Air Express C-47 (DC-3) disappears off Cape Spencer AK, 4 Nov 1948. Accessed 9-20-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19481104-0

Civil Aeronautics Board. Preliminary Statement of Facts Thus Far Developed Concerning Pacific Alaska Air Express DC-3 Which Was Reported Missing November 4, 1948, Between Yakutat, Alaska, and Seattle, Washington. Washington, DC: CAB, 3-16-1949. Accessed 9-20-2023 at: dot_33349_DS-1-1.pdf

Liefer, G. P. Broken Wings: Tragedy & Disaster in Alaska Civil Aviation. Blaine, WA:  Hancock House, 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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