1944 — Sep 24, USAAF C-47 hits 2nd C-47 parachute bundle/crashes, Camp Mackall, NC–12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-23-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, USAAF Douglas C-47, Sep 24, 1944.
— 12 AP. “12 Soldiers Die As C-47 Crashes.” The Robesonian, Lumberton NC, 9-25-1944, p. 1.
— 12 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, p. 922.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944:
“Date and Time: Sunday 24 September 1955; 19:40
“Type: Douglas C-47A-30-DL (DC-3)
“Operator: United States Army Air Force – USAAF
“Registration: 42-23783
“MSN: 9645
“First flight: 1943
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
“Passengers: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
“Total: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12
“Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair.
“Location: 9 km (5.6 mls) W of Camp Mackall, NC – USA
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Lumberton AAF, NC, USA
“Destination airport: Lumberton AAF, NC, USA
“Narrative:
“The C-47 transport plane was part of a six-ship formation that had departed Lumberton AAF on a night time parachute drop. The aircraft were flying in a V of V’s formation dropping parachute supply bundles near Camp MacKall. One of the aircraft collided with the parachute bundle dropped from a preceding airplane. The bundle hit the control surface of the right hand wing. The airplane rolled out of control and entered a spin. The pilot could not recover from the spin and the airplane crashed and burned.”
Baugher: “Douglas C-47A-30-DL….23783 (c/n 9145) to USAAF, while attached to 317TCS/1PTG at AAF Camp Mackall Field, NC, on Sep 24, 1944 crashed 5 miles W of AAF Camp Mackall Field, NC on a night parachute drop. The plane was part of a six-ship formation that had departed Lumberton AAF on a night time parachute drop. The aircraft were flying in a V of V’s formation dropping parachute supply bundles near Camp MacKall. The aircraft collided with the parachute bundle dropped from a preceding airplane. The bundle hit the control surface of the right hand wing. The airplane rolled out of control and entered a spin. The pilot could not recover from the spin and the airplane crashed and burned.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). 10-28-2011 revision.)
Mireles: “At 1940 EWT, a Douglas C-47A participating in a night airborne operation collided with parachute supply bundles that were dropped from another C-47 and crashed five miles west of Camp MacKall, North Carolina, killing four crewmembers and eight paratroopers. The airplane was part of a six-ship flight that had taken off from the Army Air Field at Lumberton, North Carolina, on a night parachute drop. The airplanes were flying in a V of V’s type formation at approximately 1,100 feet agl. The subject airplane collided with the parachute bundles with the port wing, the bundle’s parachutes fouling the control surfaces and causing the airplane to half-roll out of control. The subject airplane spun to the ground and exploded violently into flames upon impact. Investigators noted that a V of V’s formation should not be used during night parachute jumps…. accounts of the accident reported that over 300 high-ranking army officers and several newsmen witnessed the accident. Camp MacKall public relations officers reported that approximately 30 airborne troops were injured in Waco CG-4A glider crashes or in parachute jumps during the operation.” (Mireles 2006, p. 922.)
Newspaper
Sep 25, AP: “Camp Mackall, Sept. 25 – (AP) – Eight paratroopers and four crewmen were killed late last night in the crash of a C-47 transport in the crash of a C-47 transport plane during a mass parachute jump as a part of troop-carrier airborne maneuvers in this area, the public relations office announced today. Four paratroopers leaped to safety. Headquarters announced that thirty men required medical treatment in the mass jump, largest night jump ever held in this country. A board of inquiry will investigate the accident. Names of the victims will be announced later….” (Associated Press. “12 Soldiers Die As C-47 Crashes.” The Robesonian, Lumberton NC, 9-25-1944, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “12 Soldiers Die As C-47 Crashes.” The Robesonian, Lumberton NC, 9-25-1944, p. 1. Accessed 3-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/robesonian-sep-25-1944-p-1/
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944. Accident Description, USAAF Douglas C-47, 5.6M W of Camp Mackall, NC, Sep 24, 1944. Accessed 3-23-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19440924-0
Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). Oct 28 2011 revision. Accessed 12-9-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 3: August 1944 – December 1945). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.