1944 – Mar 26, USAAF B-24 engine failure, emer. lndg. attempt crash ~NAS Melbourne, FL–10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-11-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 10 Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville, MS. “10 Navy Fliers Die in Florida…” 3-27-1944, 2.
— 10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 737.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 2135 EWT, a Consolidated B-24E attempting an emergency landing crashed one mile north of the Naval Air Station at Melbourne, Florida, killing ten crewmembers. Co-pilot 2Lt. Basil R. Huntress miraculously survived but received very serious injuries…. The airplane had taken off from Chatham Army Air Field, Savannah, Georgia, on a night navigation flight. The airplane began to experience trouble with the number-one engine so the pilot radioed Melbourne Naval Air Station and requested an emergency landing. The tower cleared the area of the field and advised the subject airplane that it was cleared to land on Runway 16. The pilot acknowledged, giving his position as over the field at 4,000 feet. The airplane was observed letting down in a left hand turn west of the field. The airplane made its approach but came in too high and to the right of the runway. The pilot added power and began to go around. The airplane was flying to the right and parallel to the runway at about 400 feet agl. The airplane was observed to lose altitude as it entered a slow turn to the left. The airplane, with the landing gear in the extended position, continued to lose altitude in the turn until smashed into the ground in a bank to the left. The airplane stuck a railroad embankment and knocked down power and telephone lines. The airplane burst into flames upon impact, scattering wreckage along the right of way of the Florida East Coast Railroad and damaging the tracks. Investigators speculated that the airplane might have suffered a second engine failure while attempting to go around. The number-one engine was hurled forward in the crash and was recovered intact. Investigators discovered that the number-one engine had a collapsed and contaminated oil screen, a magnetic plug fouled with bearing material and a failed bearing.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 737.)
Newspaper
March 27, Associated Press: “Eau Gallie, Fla. (AP) – Police Chief Hugh Dewitt said 10 fliers were killed and one was injured when a four-engined bomber crashed through telephone and telegraph wires onto the tracks of the Florida East Coast railroad here last night. The lower Florida East Coast was cut off from telephone and telegraph communication for more than an hour and trains were delayed several hours while tracks were repaired.
“State Highway Patrolman George Mason reported that the plane crashed while attempting to land at the Melbourne Naval Air Base. The big plane, he said, bounced against an embankment after hitting the tracks, and exploded. Eau Gallie is about 160 miles north of Palm Beach.” (Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville, MS. “10 Navy Fliers Die in Florida…” 3-27-1944, p. 2.)
Sources
Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville, MS. “10 Navy Fliers Die in Florida; Plane Hits Wires.” 3-27-1944, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=48181982
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.