Accident description
Last updated: 24 May 2013
Status:
Date:12 OCT 1945
Time:ca 11:30
Type:Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando
Operator:United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration: 44-78591
C/n / msn: 22414
First flight:
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 55 / Occupants: 55
Total:Fatalities: 59 / Occupants: 59
Airplane damage: Written off
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:25 km (15.6 mls) WNW Beijing-Nanyuan Airport (NAY) (China) show on map
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Hankou, China
Destination airport:Beijing-Nanyuan Airport (NAY), China
Narrative:
The Curtiss Commando operated on flight from Hankou, now part of Wuhan, to Beijing. It carried 55 Chinese soldiers. Visibility near Beijing was poor due to an overcast of about 300 feet. Because of a lack of radion beacons near Beijing's Nanyuan Airport, the crew used a commercial broadcasting station as a navigational aid. The antenna was located some 25 km WNW of the field and the top was at a height of 1000 feet above airfield elevation. On approach the airplane struck the antenna and crashed.

Events:



Sources:
» Military aviation disasters : significant losses since 1908 / D. Gero, 1999

Photos
No Photo Available

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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