Date:	Tuesday 24 August 1948
Time:	19:38 LT
Type:	Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Owner/operator:	871st BSqn /497th BGp USAF
Registration:	42-24641
MSN:	4302
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 20
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Hickham AFB, Honolulu, Oahu, HI -   United States of America
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Barbers Point NAS, Hawaii
Destination airport:	Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan

Narrative:
Boeing B-29-40-BW Superfortress 42-24642: Delivered to the USAAF 15 August 1944. Assigned to 497th Bomb Group, 871st Bomb Squadron, USAF. Arrived PTO (Pacific Theater of Operations) 30 October 1944. Named ‘Thunderhead’. Returned to Returned to CONUS (CONtinental US) in December 1945 after 40+ combat missions.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed 24 August 1948: Shortly after takeoff from Barbers Point NAS, bound for Kadena via Kwajalein, the pilot informed ground that an engine failed and elected to return. ATC guided the crew to Hickam Field in Honolulu and eight minutes later, while on approach, the airplane overshot so the pilot-in-command decided to make a go around when control was lost. The airplane crashed in flames and skidded for about 600 yards before coming to rest in flames. Sixteen crew members were killed while four others were injured. According to the following contemporary newspaper report ( "Sullivan Daily Times", Volume 50, Number 169, Sullivan, Sullivan County, 25 August 1948, see link #6)

"16 Killed As Plane Crashes
Honolulu, Aug. 25.

Sixteen of 20 crew members on an Okinawa-bound B-29 were killed last night when the big plane lost an engine and crashed in flames at Hickam Field, it was announced today. Four men were rescued from the flaming wreckage and taken to the army’s nearby Tripler hospital. The crew included 10 enlisted men and four officers. Witnesses said the Superfortress exploded while sliding along in a ground skid, scattering wreckage for a quarter of a mile and smashing two power substations.

On Way To Okinawa
The plane was one of the 98th bomb group, based at Spokane, Wash., and was en route with other Superforts of the group to Okinawa for a 90-day training mission. Names of the dead will be released later today. Witnesses said the Superfortress lost an engine after taking off from Barber's point naval air station on Oahu Island. It tried to make an emergency landing at Honolulu airport but overshot the field. The pilot tried to climb but was unsuccessful.

The Superfortress plunged to the ground, hitting a taxi strip adjoining Hickam Field and skidded for 600 yards. The plane burst into flames when it hit the tail of an unoccupied C-47 transport parked on the strip. The crash occurred at 7:38 pm Honolulu time (1:38 am EDT). The crash, worst in Hawaii’s aviation history, occurred within eight minutes after the plane took off for Kwajalein with a gasoline load of 7,000 gallons."

1. El Litoral 25 August 1948, page 1.
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
3. http://www.baaa-acro.com/1948/archives/crash-of-a-boeing-b-29-40-bw-superfortress-at-hickam-afb-16-killed
4. http://b-29.org/73BW/bomb-wing-data/497-group.html
5. "Madera Tribune", Number 35, 25 August 1948 at https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MT19480825.2.11
6. "Sullivan Daily Times", Volume 50, Number 169, Sullivan, Sullivan County, 25 August 1948 at https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=SDT19480825.1.1
7. The Terre Haute Tribune from Terre Haute, Indiana August 25, 1948 Page 1 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/90526131/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Jan-2014 16:21	TB	Added
11-Mar-2014 09:47	TB	Updated [Damage]
16-Feb-2015 16:27	TB	Updated [Total occupants, Source]
24-Jun-2017 22:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Jun-2017 21:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source]
19-Mar-2020 18:39	DG333	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Operator]