The list of incidents with the Douglas DC-4 shows an overview of incidents resulting in the death or total loss of Douglas DC-4 aircraft .
From the commissioning in 1943 to February 2019, including military operators, there were 371 total losses of this type of aircraft, of which 318 were accidents. A total of 3505 people were killed. Extracts:
On May 30, 1947 DC-4 / C-54B crashed the Eastern Air Lines (NC88814) on the regular flight from Newark (New Jersey) to Miami (Florida) from the cruising out in a forested area near Baltimore . All 53 people on board were killed. The cause could never be clarified.
On October 26, 1947, the DC-4 Sunnan of the Swedish AB Aerotransport (SE-BBG) flew into the western flank of Mount Hymettos near Athens. The machine was on a flight from Istanbul via Athens, Rome, Geneva and Copenhagen to Stockholm and was approaching the then Athens-Hassani airport. All 44 people on board were killed, 8 crew members and 36 passengers.
On May 12, 1948 (in some sources May 13), a DC-4-1009 of the Sabena ( OO-CBE ) was caught in a tornado on a domestic flight from Leopoldville to Libenge in the Congo and fell into a forest area. Of the 32 inmates, 31 were killed.
On September 3, 1948, a DC-4 of the Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (CS-TSB) crashed on a training flight at Lisbon-Portela Airport . The landing was so hard that the plane was totaled. All five crew members survived the accident.
On August 15, 1949, the pilots of a DC-4 / C-54A of Transocean Air Lines (N79998) had to ditch a nightly ditch about eight miles off the west coast of Ireland . The plane coming from Rome initially flew far out into the Atlantic instead of landing in Shannon . After the crew noticed their mistake and vice versa, the fuel ran out. Seven passengers and one crew member were killed. Another 50 people were rescued by the crew of a fishing trawler .
On November 1, 1949, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft belonging to the Bolivian Aviation Authority (NX26927) collided with a DC-4 operated by Eastern Air Lines (N88727) shortly before Washington / National Airport , which was currently in the final approach curve . All 55 occupants of the DC-4 were killed. At this point in time, the Bolivian pilot had approached without clearance (see Eastern Air Lines flight 537 ).
On June 12, 1950, an Air France (F-BBDE) DC-4-1009 from Karachi flew into the water while approaching Bahrain airport 5.5 kilometers from the destination airport. Of the 52 inmates, 46 were killed. Pilot fatigue was found to be a contributing factor in the accident.
On June 14, 1950, another Air France DC-4-1009 (F-BBDM) coming from Karachi flew into the water while approaching Bahrain airport , just 1,600 meters from the scene of the accident of the plane that had crashed two days earlier. Of the 53 inmates, 40 were killed. The lack of equipment at Bahrain Airport with suitable night flight lights and radio navigation aids was stated as contributing accident factors.
On December 8, 1950, a DC-4 / C-54A of Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux (TAI) (F-BELB) was flown four minutes after take-off from Bangui Airport , Central African Republic, 16 kilometers south of it into higher terrain. The machine was supposed to bring 50 Senegalese soldiers to Dar es Salaam ( Tanganyika ). Of the 56 inmates, 46 were killed. The causes of the accident were inadequate map information, ignoring the topographical conditions, too low a rate of climb and the resulting controlled flight into terrain .
On January 14, 1951, a National Airlines DC-4-1009 (N74685) rolled over the end of the runway while landing at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania Airport and caught fire immediately. 7 of the 28 inmates died, including one crew member.
On February 3, 1951, an Air France DC-4-1009 (F-BBDO) flew into a mountain near Buea , Cameroon at an altitude of 2,600 meters. The machine was on its way from Douala to Niamey . All 23 passengers and six crew members died.
On March 11, 1951, a DC-4 / R5D-1 of the Thai Pacific Overseas Airlines (HS-POS) with 4 crew members and 20 passengers on board after taking off from Hong Kong-Kai Tak airport , despite bad weather in visual flight, was in a Range of hills flown. All 24 inmates died.
On March 30, 1951, a Seabord & Western Airlines (later Seaboard World Airlines ) DC-4 / C-54B (N74644) came off the runway while landing at Keflavík Airport , Iceland , collided with piles of snow and caught fire. None of the six crew members was killed. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
On April 25, 1951, a DC-4 collided Cubana ( CU-T188 ) near Key West , Florida , with a Beechcraft 18 Kansan of the US Navy (Bu 39939) . All 39 occupants of the DC-4 and the 4 occupants in the other aircraft were killed.
On July 13, 1951, a Siamese Airways ( HS-POA ) DC-4 / C-54B took off overloaded at Don Mueang Airport , Thailand and had an accident. All inmates survived. The plane caught fire and burned out.
On July 18, 1951, a DC-4 / C-54A of the TAI ( F-BDRI ) had an accident shortly after taking off from Antananarivo-Arivonimamo airport (Madagascar). All crew members on the cargo flight survived.
On July 21, 1951, a Canadian Pacific Air Lines ( CF-CPC ) DC-4 disappeared on a flight from Vancouver to Anchorage between Sitka and Yakutat. The machine was supposed to fly on to Korea via Tokyo. To date, neither wreckage nor inmates have been found. All 37 people on board were pronounced dead.
On November 24, 1951, a Douglas DC-4 of the Israeli El Al (4X-ADN) crashed on a cargo flight from Rome with textiles on board, three kilometers northeast of Zurich Airport, in a forest shortly before landing . Six of the seven crew members were killed.
On November 11, 1952, a DC-4 / C-54B of the Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) ( F-BFVO ) had an accident near Lake Chad , about 120 kilometers north-northwest of the starting point Fort-Lamy (today N'Djamena (Chad) ) at the beginning of the flight to Beirut . Four of the five crew members and the only passenger were killed.
On December 6, 1952, a Cubana DC-4 (CU-T397) crashed a good 4 kilometers after taking off from Kindley Field Airport , Bermuda . The plane had made a stopover in Bermuda for refueling on the way from Madrid to Havana . 37 of the 41 people on board died. Only three passengers and one crew member survived the accident.
On January 7, 1953 (local time) a DC-4 / C-54B of the Flying Tiger Line (N86574) was flown into a mountain en route from San Francisco to Boeing Field (Seattle) (CFIT, Controlled flight into terrain ). After the approach clearance had already been granted, the aircraft deviated from course, brushed trees near the summit of Squak Mountain about 19 kilometers from the destination airport and crashed into the adjacent valley near a farm on Issaquah-Hobart Road. All seven occupants (four crew members and three passengers) were killed. The fire at the crash site was so intense that rescue workers did not reach it until four days later to recover the bodies.
On February 7, 1953, a DC-4 / C-54A of the Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) ( F-BFGR ) crashed while approaching Bordeaux Airport 5.5 kilometers northeast of the field. The machine was on the flight from Abidjan via Casablanca to Paris. When visibility was very poor, the plane sank too early and collided with a grove. Overtiredness of the crew due to excessive previous flight duty is named as a decisive factor in the accident report. Nine of the 21 people on board were killed.
On June 3, 1955, a UAT DC-4 / C-54A ( F-BFVT ) overturned while landing at Fort Lamy Airport. She is said to have been struck by lightning while touching down during a thunderstorm. The three-person crew of the cargo flight coming from Douala was killed.
On October 6, 1955, a United Air Lines DC-4 ( N30062 ) hit a mountain in the Laramie Mountains en route from Denver to Salt Lake City . The machine flew 40 kilometers (32 kilometers according to another report) off the normal flight route at an altitude of around 3500 meters. All 66 people on board died. It was the most serious accident of a DC-4 to date.
On August 11, 1957, a DC-4 of the Canadian Maritime Central Airways ( CF-MCF ) crashed on the flight from Keflavík to Montreal 7.2 kilometers west of Issoudun, Québec . All 79 inmates died. The machine had flown into an active storm cloud, which resulted in a loss of control and it hit the ground almost vertically.
On November 3, 1957, the DC-4 D-ALAF of the charter airline Karl Herfurtner Düsseldorf with 10 people on board crashed shortly after taking off from Düsseldorf Airport from a low altitude in an allotment garden in Düsseldorf-Derendorf . Seven of the ten inmates and one person on the ground were killed. The captain (chief pilot of the company) was in the habit of turning off both left engines immediately after take-off in order to test the other pilot (see plane crash in Düsseldorf ).
On December 8, 1957, a Douglas DC-4 of Aerolíneas Argentinas (LV-AHZ) broke up 20 kilometers southwest of Bolivar ( Province of Buenos Aires , Argentina) after being caught in a thunderstorm, the strong turbulence of which led to the Operating limits of the machine. All 61 occupants died (see also Aerolíneas Argentinas flight 670 ) .
On November 21, 1959, an Ariana Afghan Airlines ( YA-BAG ) DC-4 collided with a mountain thirty kilometers northeast of the airport after taking off from Beirut Airport . Of the 27 occupants, only 3 passengers survived.
1960s
On February 5, 1960, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano DC-4 ( aircraft registration CP-609 ) crashed into a lagoon 15 kilometers south of the take-off airport shortly after taking off from Cochabamba airport (Bolivia). According to reports, an engine had caught fire. All 59 occupants, 4 crew members and 55 passengers were killed.
On April 22, 1960, a DC-4 of the Belgian Sobelair (OO-SBL) was flown against a mountain on the approach to Bunia ( Congo ) in poor visibility conditions. All 35 inmates were killed.
On September 19, 1961, a DC-4 of the British Starways ( G-ARJY) landed on its belly near Dublin Airport . All 73 occupants survived, but the aircraft had to be scrapped.
On January 21, 1967, a DC-4 / C-54A of the British Air Ferry (G-ASOG) was flown into the forest about 2700 meters from the runway on the approach to Frankfurt Airport . The aircraft came as a cargo flight on behalf of Lufthansa and British European Airways from Manchester Airport in the UK . The two pilots were killed. The main reasons for the pilots' loss of altitude orientation were found to be incorrect setting of the altimeter and incorrect use of the checklist.
On June 3, 1967, a DC-4 / C-54A of the British Air Ferry (G-APYK) collided with Mont Canigou, around 40 kilometers southwest of the destination airport, on its approach to Perpignan airport. The fully occupied machine came on a charter flight from Manston Airport in the UK . All 88 people on board were killed (5 crew members and 83 passengers). It is a DC-4 accident with the most fatalities. Carbon monoxide poisoning and poor language skills of air traffic control in Perpignan were identified as contributing causes for the pilots' loss of orientation.
On September 20, 1969, an Air Vietnam DC-4 (XV-NUG) was on a scheduled flight from Pleiku approaching Da Nang Airport . It was from the top of a McDonnell F-4 Phantom II of the United States Air Force rammed the back of a combat mission. The line machine crashed into a field. 76 people were killed. Of the 75 occupants, 74 were killed, all 5 crew members and 69 passengers, as well as 2 farmers who worked in a field.
1970s
On March 19, 1973, an Air Vietnam DC-4 (XV-NUI) coming from Saigon crashed on approach to Buon Ma Thuot Airport 6.5 kilometers south of it. The cause was an explosion in the hold near the main spar. All 58 occupants, 5 crew members and 53 passengers were killed.
1980s
On August 11, 1981, the pilots of a DC-4 of the Colombian SADELCA (HK-136) had to make an emergency landing on the flight from Florencia to Neiva . The machine was damaged beyond repair. People were not harmed.
1990s
On April 30, 1990, the nose landing gear of a US Aero Union DC-4 (N67109) collapsed on landing at Chico Airport ( California ). Both pilots survived. The machine was damaged beyond repair.
2000-2009
On August 28, 2002, a DC-4 of Buffalo Airways (C-GQIC) coming from Yellowknife Airport grazed the approach lights when landing at Diavik Airfield, Northwest Territories ( Canada ) and touched down shortly before the start of the runway. The aircraft spun, the right wing broke off, and it came to a halt about 300 meters. A fire broke out and the machine was irreparably damaged. Both crew members of the cargo flight were only slightly injured.
On August 2, 2003, a Buffalo Airways (C-GBSK) DC-4 touched down in front of the runway on landing at Ulu Mine Strip Airfield, Northwest Territories ( Canada ). The landing gear collapsed, the wings tore off and caught fire, the fuselage slid off the runway to the right. This consists of gravel and is almost 1200 meters long. The four crew members of the cargo flight were uninjured.
On January 5, 2006, a Buffalo Airways DC-4 (C-GXKN) took off from Norman Wells Airport , Northwest Territories ( Canada ), on a cargo flight to Yellowknife Airport . Six minutes after take-off there was an engine fire and engine no. 2 failed. The use of the fire extinguisher bottles built into the engine had no effect. Propeller No. 2 was brought into the sail position, but at the same time the propeller of engine No. 1 also went into sail position. The fire went out shortly before an off-site landing had already been initiated , and the pilots flew back to the take-off airfield with only two engines running. During the emergency landing, the machine came off the runway and only came to a standstill 20 meters from the edge of the runway in deep snow. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The four crew members were uninjured.
2010-2019
On March 22, 2012, the nose landing gear control of a Douglas DC-4 of the Jet One Express (N406WA) failed while taxiing after landing at San Juan Airport ( Puerto Rico ). The plane got stuck over a moat. Both crew members of the cargo flight were uninjured. The machine was damaged beyond repair. Just seven days earlier, a Convair CV-340 of the Jet One Express had crashed after taking off from San Juan airport, killing both pilots.
↑ Maurice J. Wickstead: Airlines of the British Isles since 1919 . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Staplefield, W Sussex 2014, ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4 , p. 35.
↑ Tony Merton Jones: British Independent Airline since 1946, Vol. 1 . Merseyside Aviation Society & LAAS International, Liverpool & Uxbridge 1976, ISBN 0 902 420 07 0 , p. 30.
↑ Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 99 (English), June 2006, p. 103.
