1946 – Feb 5, USAAF C-47 crash, heavy rain, mountains, Negros Island, Philippines–20-24

Compiled 11-8-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–24  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-47 flies into mountainside, Negros Island, Philippines.

–24  Bureau of Aviation Accident Archives. “Crash of a Douglas C-47A-30-DL near Bacolod: 24.”

–20  Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 39. 

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1946, p. 4:

“Date:                          Tuesday 5 February 1946

“Type:                         Douglas C-47A-30-DL (DC-3)

“Operator:                   United States Army Air Force – USAAF

“Registration:              42-23619

“MSN:                         0481

….

“Crew:                         Fatalities:   4 / Occupants:   4

“Passengers:                Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20

“Total:                         Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 24

…Location:                 Negros Island (Philippines)

“Phase:                        En route (ENR)

“Nature:                       Military

“Departure airport:      Iloilo-Mandurriao Airport…Philippines

“Destination airport:    Cebu-Lahug Airport, Philippines

“Narrative:                   Flew into the side of a mountain.

Bureau of Aviation Accident Archives:

“Date & Time:                         Feb 5, 1946

“Type of aircraft:        Douglas V-47  Skytrain (DC-3)

“Operator:                   USAAF

“Registration:              42-23619

“Flight Phase:              Flight

“Flight Type:               Military

“Survivors:                  No

“Site:                           Mountains

“Schedule:                   Cebu City – Iloilo City

“MSN:                         9481

“YOM:                        1943

“Location:                   Bacolod, Negros Occidental

“Country:                    Philippines

….

“Crew on board:         4

….

Pax on board:              20

….

“Total fatalities:          24

“Circumstances:          Radio communications with the crew were lost while the aircraft was flying

in heavy rain falls vertical to Negros Island. As it failed to arrive in Iloilo, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 24 occupant was found. The wreckage was spotted by walkers seven months later in a mountainous and wooded area located east of Bacolod.

“Probable cause:         Controlled flight into terrain.

Gero:

“Date:                          5 February 1946 (time unknown)

“Location:                   The Philippines

“Operator:                   US Army Air Forces

“Aircraft type:             Douglas C-47

“The twin-engine transport vanished in adverse weather conditions during an inter-island flight to Cebu from Iloilo, located on Panay. The wreckage was found in mountainous terrain on Negros more than seven months later. All 20 persons aboard the aircraft had apparently been killed in the crash. The passengers included nine American civilian entertainers; the rest of the victims being military personnel, including the crew of four. No information was made available regarding possible causative factors.”

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1946, p. 4. USAAF C-47 flies into mountainside, Negros Island, Philippines, 2-5-1946. Accessed 110-9-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19460205-1

Bureau of Aviation Accident Archives. “Crash of a Douglas C-47A-30-DL near Bacolod: 24.” Accessed 11-9-2023 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/zone/negros-occidental

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.