Narrative:
A Douglas C-47 transport aircraft was destroyed when it crashed during a personnel flight from Midland AAF, TX to Nashville, TN. All three crew members and 22 passengers were killed in the accident. Some fifty minutes into the flight the airplane encountered a line of powerful thunderstorms. The no. 2 propeller was apparently feathered and the pilot probably attempted to divert to Avenger Field, TX. The airplane was manoeuvring in IMC when elevators and horizontal stabilizers failed due to severe stresses on the airframe. The crew lost control and the C-47 spun to the ground.
Airframe failure
Loss of control
» USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present / Joe Baugher
» Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 3: August 1944-December 1945 / Anthony J. Mireles
| Status: | |
| Date: | Friday 20 April 1945 |
| Time: | 06:40 |
| Type: |  Douglas C-47-DL (DC-3) |
| Operator: | United States Army Air Force - USAAF |
| Registration: | 41-18451 |
| MSN: | 4513 |
| First flight: | 1942 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 22 / Occupants: 22 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 25 / Occupants: 25 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 6,5 km (4.1 mls) SE of Sweetwater, TX ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Midland AAF, TX (MAF/KMAF), United States of America |
| Nashville Metropolitan Airport, TN (BNA/KBNA), United States of America |
A Douglas C-47 transport aircraft was destroyed when it crashed during a personnel flight from Midland AAF, TX to Nashville, TN. All three crew members and 22 passengers were killed in the accident. Some fifty minutes into the flight the airplane encountered a line of powerful thunderstorms. The no. 2 propeller was apparently feathered and the pilot probably attempted to divert to Avenger Field, TX. The airplane was manoeuvring in IMC when elevators and horizontal stabilizers failed due to severe stresses on the airframe. The crew lost control and the C-47 spun to the ground.
Classification:
ThunderstormAirframe failure
Loss of control
Sources:
» Military aviation disasters : significant losses since 1908 / D. Gero, 1999» USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present / Joe Baugher
» Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 3: August 1944-December 1945 / Anthony J. Mireles
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 Midland AAF, TX to Nashville Metropolitan Airport, TN as the crow flies is 1492 km (933 miles).
Distance from Midland AAF, TX to Nashville Metropolitan Airport, TN as the crow flies is 1492 km (933 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.
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Douglas DC-3
- ca 13.000 built
- 1806th loss
- 577th fatal accident
- 9th worst accident (at the time)
- 113th worst accident (currently)
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