Date:	Friday 12 October 1945
Time:	11:30
Type:	Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando
Owner/operator:	United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration:	44-78591
MSN:	22414
Year of manufacture:	1945
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 59 / Occupants: 59
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	25 km WNW Beijing-Nanyuan Airport (NAY) -   China
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Hankou
Destination airport:	Beijing-Nanyuan Airport (NAY/ZBNY)

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 radio 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.

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

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