Narrative:A Consolidated B-24D (41-11889) departed Homestead AAF, FL on an instrument flight to West Palm Beach, FL. To simulate instrument conditions, the pilot was flying under the hood.
At 10:06 a Douglas C-49 took off from Miami, bound for Savannah and began to climb to its assigned cruising altitude of 3000 feet. At 10:20 the pilot of the B-24 radioed Morrison Field that the exercise was completed and that they were leaving the Morrison Radio Range. It proceeded to the south at an altitude of 1500 feet. At 10:26 both aircraft collided nearly head on. The B-24D's port wing separated near the no. 1 engine. The airplane rolled over to the left and crashed into the sea. The C-49 went into a steep spiral and impacted the sea about a mile off shore.
It is presumed that the pilot of the B-24 was still under the hood with both crew members of the C-49 preoccupied with their respective cockpit duties.
Official records list the C-49's serial as 39-2187. This seems improbable
Classification:
Mid air collision
Loss of control
Sources:
»
Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research (AAIR)» Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 2: July 1943-July 1944 / Anthony J. Mireles
Photos
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 Miami-36th Street Airport, FL to Savannah International Airport, GA as the crow flies is 706 km (441 miles).
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.