ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47B-1-DL (DC-3) 43-16151 Quartzite, AZ
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Status:
Date:Monday 25 December 1944
Time:12:35
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas C-47B-1-DL (DC-3)
Operator:United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration: 43-16151
MSN: 20617
First flight: 1944
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13
Total:Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 17
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:21 km (13.1 mls) SE of Quartzite, AZ (   United States of America)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Tucson Municipal Airport, AZ (TUS/KTUS), United States of America
Destination airport:Palm Springs Municipal Airport, CA (PSP/KPSP), United States of America
Narrative:
The Douglas C-47B transport plane departed El Paso, Texas on a flight to Tucson, Arizona and Palm Springs, California.
The aircraft departed Tucson at 10:48 hours MWT for the last leg. It entered instrument conditions while flying over mountainous terrain and collided with Black Mesa Mountain, 15 feet below the summit. All aboard died.
The wreckage was located on 28 December 1944.

Classification:

Sources:
» Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 3: August 1944-December 1945 / Anthony J. Mireles


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Tucson Municipal Airport, AZ to Palm Springs Municipal Airport, CA as the crow flies is 549 km (343 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Douglas DC-3

  • ca 13.000 built
  • 1383rd loss
  • 474th fatal accident
  • 53rd worst accident (at the time)
  • 305th worst accident (currently)
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