Transocean Air Lines flight 512

Transocean Air Lines flight 512
An identical machine from another company.
Accident summary
Accident type	unexplained
place	Pacific Ocean , approximately 630 km east of Wake
date	July 12, 1953
Fatalities	58
Survivors	0
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-6A
operator	Transocean Air Lines
Mark	N90806
Surname	Royal Hawaiian
Departure airport	Brewer Field , Guam , U.S. suburb
1. Stopover	Wake Island Airfield , Wake , U.S. suburb
2. Stopover	Honolulu Airport , Hawaii , former US suburb (not reached)
Destination airport	Oakland Municipal Airport , California , United States
Passengers	50
crew	8th
Lists of aviation accidents

On July 12, 1953, a Douglas DC-6A crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Transocean Air Lines Flight 512 from Wake to Honolulu for unknown reasons . All 58 inmates were killed in the accident.

plane

The machine manufactured in September 1949 by the Douglas Aircraft Company ( registration number : N90806, c / n : 42901/153) was the technical prototype of the Douglas DC-6A cargo aircraft , which compared to the basic version had an extended fuselage and more powerful engines. The machine was first sold by the manufacturer to Slick Airways on July 3, 1951, and then on July 28, 1952 to Transocean Air Lines . The company subsequently converted the aircraft so that it was possible to transport passengers or freight. By the time the accident occurred, the machine had completed 6,235 flight hours.

Flight history

The Douglas DC-6 operated a transpacific charter flight from Guam to Oakland . Scheduled stopovers were planned on Wake Island and Honolulu ( Hawaii ). The aircraft took off from Guam at 10:04 a.m. local time (00:04 GMT ). The first stage to Atoll Wake went without any special incidents. Upon arrival, the machine was refueled and took another passenger on board. The crew received the information from the weather service that there was an elongated high pressure area between Wake and Hawaii , at the edge of which towering cumulonimbus clouds could form. According to the forecast of the meteorologists , only slight turbulence would be expected on the flight , because the planned route would lead past this weather front south.

At 18:58 local time (06:58 GMT), the Douglas DC-6 took off on its onward flight to Honolulu. The flight time for this section of the route was calculated at 9 hours and 3 minutes. After the machine had covered a distance of 100 NM (185 kilometers), the crew routinely reported to air traffic control at 19:29 local time (07:29 GMT) and reported their position. The pilots said they had reached the approved cruising altitude of just under 4,600 meters (15,000 feet ) two minutes ago. One hour later (at 08:29 GMT) another position was given (19 ° 48 'N 171 ° 48' E). At this point in time the machine was about 545 kilometers (294 NM) from Wake at an unchanged altitude between two layers of cloud. This was the last radio contact with the pilots.

The crew of the ship USNS Barrett discovered floating debris about 605 kilometers east of Wake (position: 19 ° 49 'N 172 ° 25' E) at 6:08 p.m. local time (06:08 GMT) on July 13. The following day, fourteen fatalities, fragments of cabin cladding, seat cushions, luggage and other light items were recovered, including six unused life jackets and all five life rafts . In the course of the three-day search operation, eleven other bodies were sighted, but they could not be recovered due to the heavy swell . Taking into account the ocean currents and the location of the debris, it was calculated that the site of the accident was approximately 85 kilometers (45 NM) east of the last reported position of the aircraft. The distance to Wake Island was about 630 kilometers (340 NM). The accident occurred about 12 minutes after the last radio contact.

Accident investigation

The cause of the accident could not be determined because there was neither debris from the fuselage nor the flight-relevant system groups. The condition of the corpses and the damage found on the life rafts indicated that the machine crashed in an uncontrolled manner and hit the sea with great force. Presumably, the plane broke on impact. The wreckage sank in about 3.2 kilometers of water and could not be located.

A review of the maintenance logs and interviews with the technical staff in Wake did not reveal any evidence of a technical defect or incorrect refueling of the machine. Likewise, no traces were found on the victims or found objects that would indicate a fire on board. The explosion of an explosive device could not be ruled out, but police investigations in the private environment of the passengers did not lead to approaches that corroborate this theory.

A captain of Pan American World Airways , who completed a scheduled flight in the opposite direction and at the same time passed the area in question about 55 kilometers (30 NM) north of the accident site, reported severe thunderstorms and very strong turbulence in the region. It could not be determined whether the southern extent of the bad weather area reached the flight route of the crashed aircraft and whether the crash was possibly caused by weather conditions.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e f g} Civil Aeronautics Board, Transocean Air Lines - 300 Miles East of Wake Island, July 12, 1953
2. ↑ RZJets, production list Douglas DC-6

Coordinates: 19 ° 52 ′ 0 ″  N , 172 ° 36 ′ 0 ″  E