Compiled by Wayne Blanchard 10-17-2023 for upload to: https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–41 Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-54 approach crash, Atsugi Air Base, Japan, 5-29-1947.

–41 BAAA. “Crash of a Douglas C-54D-5-DC Skymaster near Atsugi: 41 Killed.”

–41 Blanchard estimate.[1]

–40 Assoc. Press. “Airplane Crashes Around The World.” La Crosse Tribune, WI, 5-31-1947, 1.

–40 Baugher, Joseph. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-70686 to 42-91973).

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1947:

“Date and Time: Thursday 29 May 1947, 22:45

“Type: Douglas C-54D-5-DC (DC-4)

“Operator: United States Army Air Force – USAAF

“Registration: 42-72553

“MSN: 10658

“First flight: 1945

“Crew: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8

“Passengers: Fatalities: 33 / Occupants: 33

“Total: Fatalities: 41 / Occupants: 41 (Cites Baugher as only source, who notes 40.)

….

“Location: near Atsugi-NAS – Japan

“Phase: Approach (APR)

“Nature: Military

“Departure airport: Seoul-Gimpo (Kimpo) International Airport…South Korea

“Destination airport: Atsugi NAS…Japan

“Narrative: Crashed on approach.”

Baugher, 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-70686 to 42-91973):

“Douglas C-54D-5-DC Skymaster….72553 (MSN 10658) crashed on approach Atsugi, Japan May 29, 1947. 40 killed.

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives:

“Date & Time: May 29, 1947 at 2245 LT [local time]

“Type of aircraft: Douglas C-54 Skymaster

“Operator: USAAF

“Registration: 42-72553

“Flight Phase: Landing (descent or approach)

“Flight Type: Military

“Survivors: No

“Site: Mountains

“Schedule: Seoul – Tachikawa

“MSN: 10658

“YOM: 1945

“Location: Atsugi NAS, Kanto

“Country: Japan

….

“Crew on board: 8

“Crew fatalities: 8

“Pax on board: 33

“Pax fatalities: 33

“Other fatalities: 0

“Total fatalities: 41

“Circumstances:

“The aircraft was performing a flight from Seoul-Kimpo to Tachikawa AFB with several US officers and five civilians on board. While approaching the Tokyo area by night and from the southwest, the crew completed a turn at an altitude of 1,500 meters in marginal weather conditions when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located west of the city of Atsugi, about 30 km southwest of Tachikawa AFB. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and burned completely. All 41 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was 10 km with cumulus and altostratus between 1,000 and 2,500 meters.

“Probable cause:

“Apparently following an inappropriate flight plan, or maybe due to a lack of concentration or situational awareness, the crew did not check their instruments properly and failed to recognize that they were following a wrong heading to land at Tachikawa AFB. It is possible that strong winds (up to 40 knots at the time of the accident) may contribute to the deviation of the approach path.”

Newspapers

May 30, AP: “Tokyo, Friday, May 30, (AP) – A four-engined C-54 army courier plane with 41 persons aboard crashed in mountains southwest of Tokyo last night and it was not known today whether there were any survivors. The plane, inbound from Korea, had reported no trouble as it flew northward across the mouth of Tokyo bay, fifth air force announcement said. That was its last radio contact with ground officials. Three airplanes and five ground parties were rushed to the scene west of Atsugi airport, the couriers’ destination and the field where General MacArthur landed to begin the occupation of Japan. Aboard the plane were 33 passengers and a crew of eight, the Fifth air force said. The general headquarters public relations office said a list of passengers and crew could not be released until Tuesday. The announcement said the condition of the plane and those aboard was ‘still undetermined.’ The plane was on a routine courier flight from Kimpo, Korea to Tokyo.

“The craft contacted Tokyo by radio at 10:30 p.m., when it was at 9,000 feet elevation over Oshima, the island at the entrance to Tokyo bay.

“The crash scene in the mountains is on the line of approach to Atsugi airfield, about 38 miles southwest of Tokyo. Atsugi is a main army base and the field at which American army forces first landed in occupying Japan.” (Associated Press. Army Courier Plane With 41 on Board Crashes Near Tokyo.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV, 5-30-1947, p. 1.)

May 31, AP: “….Tokyo – 40 killed when U.S. army courier plane hit a mountain southwest of Japanese capital, Thursday.” (Associated Press. “Airplane Crashes Around The World.” La Crosse Tribune, WI, 5-31-1947, p.1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Airplane Crashes Around The World.” La Crosse Tribune, WI, 5-31-1947, p.1. Accessed 10-17-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/la-crosse-tribune-may-31-1947-p-1/

Associated Press. Army Courier Plane With 41 on Board Crashes Near Tokyo.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV, 5-30-1947, p. 1. Accessed 10-17-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-may-30-1947-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1947. USAAF C-54 approach crash, Atsugi Air Base, Japan, 5-29-1947. Accessed 10-17-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470529-3

Baugher, Joseph. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-70686 to 42-91973) Accessed 10-17-2023 at: https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_4.html

BAAA (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives). “Crash of a Douglas C-54D-5-DC Skymaster near Atsugi: 41 Killed.” Accessed 10-17-2023 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-c-54d-5-dc-skymaster-near-atsugi-41-killed

[1] Though no source is cited in the BAAA account, more detail is provided than I have located in other sources, leading me to think it probable that the death toll was 41. The very first news accounts from Japan noted that 41 were aboard, and it was not known yet whether there were survivors. Later accounts note there were no survivors.

1947 — May 29, USAAF C-54 (DC-4), approach crash near Atsugi Air Base, Japan — all 41