Disappearance of the Douglas DC-3 NC16002
| Disappearance of the Douglas DC-3 NC16002 | |
|---|---|
 A Douglas DC-3DST similar to the NC16002 |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | unexplained |
| place | Sea area around Florida |
| date | December 28, 1948 |
| Fatalities | 32 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-3DST-144 |
| operator | Airborne transportation |
| Mark | NC16002 |
| Departure airport | Isla Grande Airport |
| Destination airport | Miami International Airport |
| Passengers | 29 |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On December 28, 1948, the Douglas DC-3 NC16002 of the US charter airline Airborne Transport disappeared on a flight from San Juan to Miami . Since the accident occurred in the area of the so-called Bermuda Triangle, proponents of a related mystery hypothesis describe it as an associated riddle.
Flight history
The Douglas DC-3 with the air vehicle registration NC16002 landed at 19:40 local time from Miami coming in San Juan, to fly after a brief stay back to Miami. Before departure, it was found that the aircraft's batteries were completely discharged so that the radios were not working. The approved instrument flight plan to Miami was then withdrawn. The air traffic control gave the crew a starting permission to visual flight rules under the premise that the pilots would have to return to the departure airport when charging the batteries after a short flight duration should not be done and no contact with the control tower would be possible. Until then, the machine should remain within sight of the airport. At 10:14 p.m. Central Standard Time , 11 minutes after take-off, the pilots sent a radio message that was received by another facility in San Juan, but not by the control tower. Although communication between the tower and the aircraft was unsuccessful, the pilots continued the flight to Miami.
An air traffic control center in Miami received a message from the pilots at 11:23 p.m. At this point in time, the aircraft was at a cruising altitude of almost 2,600 meters (8,500 feet ). The crew stated that they would reach South Caicos at 12:33 a.m. and that they would land in Miami at 4:05 a.m. At 4:13 a.m. another message was picked up by air traffic control in New Orleans , with the pilots stating that they were about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Miami. It was the last radio contact with the plane. The position report took place six hours and ten minutes after take-off, at which time the fuel reserves were still sufficient for a flight duration of 80 minutes.
examination
Despite a six-day search in the sea area off Cuba , off the Bahamas and in the Gulf of Mexico as well as within Florida , no traces of the aircraft or its occupants were found. The final report of the investigation suggested that the aircraft deviated from course, passed Florida west of the Florida Keys , and then continued on the wrong course into the Gulf of Mexico until the fuel ran out. According to the weather report that the pilots received before departure from San Juan, winds from the northwest would have been expected along the entire route. In fact, however, the wind turned in the area of the southern Bahamas, so that it was blowing from the northeast at just under 20 km / h (10 knots ). This likely resulted in the machine being moved about 65 to 80 kilometers (40 to 50 miles) south. Air traffic control in Miami announced the change in wind direction at 00:15. It remained unclear whether the pilots had received this message. The investigators thought it was possible that the radio compass (ADF) had also failed due to the suspected problems with the on-board electrical system, which would have made navigation more difficult.
On January 4, 1949, two bodies were found about 80 kilometers south of Guantánamo (Cuba). It could not be confirmed whether the victims were actually occupants of the missing aircraft.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article on Bermuda-Triangle.org
- ↑ Article on Bermuda-Attractions.com
- ↑ a b c CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD: ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT. AIRBORNE TRANSPORT, INC. - MIAMI, FLORIDA, DECEMBER 28, 1948. In: National Transportation Library. United States Department of Transportation, July 15, 1949, accessed June 21, 2015 .
- ↑ accident report DC-3 NC16002 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 7 December 2017th