Accident description
Last updated: 19 June 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 22 JAN 1944 |
| Type: | Douglas C-47A-1-DL |
| Operator: | United States Army Air Force - USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-23302 |
| C/n / msn: | 9164 |
| First flight: | 1943 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Richmond-Central Airport, VA (United States of America) |
| Phase: | Taxi (TXI) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Laurinburg-Maxton AAB, NC (MXE/KMEB), United States of America |
| Richmond International Airport (Byrd Field), VA (RIC/KRIC), United States of America |
The C-47A departed Maxton AAB on an intstrument training flight to Richmond AAB. On arrival, the Air Base had been closed for traffic. The pilot decided to divert to the Richmond Central Airport.
The landing was uneventful and the airplane taxied to the end of the runway. While turning off the runway, it ran into mud. Power was added, but the plane bogged down up to the wheel hubs. After adding more power, the tail lifted off. The airplane then nosed over and the propellers struck the groundat high rpm. The no.1 propeller separated and debris punctured the cockpit, killing the captain.
Sources:
» Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 2: July 1943-July 1944 / Anthony J. Mireles
» Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research (AAIR)
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Laurinburg-Maxton AAB, NC to Richmond International Airport (Byrd Field), VA as the crow flies is 351 km (219 miles).
Distance from Laurinburg-Maxton AAB, NC to Richmond International Airport (Byrd Field), VA as the crow flies is 351 km (219 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
