Douglas DC-4 - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

On October 3, 1946, American Overseas Airlines DC-4 "Flagship New England" crashed into a hill after taking off in darkness from Stephenville-Harmon Field in Newfoundland on a flight to Shannon, Ireland. The 31 passengers and 8 crew aboard were killed.

On May 29, 1947, United Air Lines Flight 521 crashed after overrunning the runway during an aborted takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport on a flight to Cleveland, Ohio. A total of 41 passengers and two crew died out of the 44 passengers and four crew on board.

On May 30, 1947, Eastern Air Lines Flight 605 dived into the ground near Bainbridge, Maryland, during a flight from Newark to Miami. The 49 passengers and four crew were killed. At the time this was the deadliest airliner crash in United States history. The cause of the dive was never determined.

On June 13, 1947, Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 410 struck a ridge near Charles Town, West Virginia, during a flight from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. The 47 passengers and three crew were killed.

On November 1, 1949, an Eastern Air Lines DC-4 was struck and cut in half by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning while approaching Washington National Airport, falling into and around the Potomac River, killing all 51 passengers and the four crew. This succeeded Eastern's Flight 605 as the deadliest airliner incident in U.S. history.

On June 23, 1950, a Northwest Orient Airlines DC-4 disappeared over Lake Michigan en route from New York City to Seattle. Light debris, upholstery and human body fragments were found floating in the lake, but the airframe and identifiable remains of the 55 passengers and three crew have never been located, and the cause of the accident is still unknown.

On June 26, 1950 a DC-4 operated by Australian National Airways departed Perth, Western Australia and crashed 19 minutes later near York, Western Australia. A total of 28 occupants were killed in the impact but one passenger survived the crash. The survivor died five days later in a Perth hospital. The cause of the crash remains unclear. The aircraft was registered VH-ANA and named Amana.

On July 21, 1951, a Canadian Pacific Air Lines (registration CF-CPC) disappeared (probably while flying over Alaska on a flight from Vancouver, Canada to Anchorage, Alaska). No trace of the aircraft or of its 31 passengers and six crew has ever been found. The cause of the accident remains undetermined.

On February 1, 1958: a Lóide Aéreo Nacional Douglas DC-4 registration PP-LEM, experienced a failure of engine no. 4 during a night takeoff from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont. The takeoff was aborted and 100 m before the end of the runway, a tire from the landing gear burst, causing the aircraft to run off the side of the runway and burst into flames. Of the 72 passengers and crew aboard, five died.

On March 9, 1969 N3821 a DC-4 operated by Continental Air Transport disappeared on a cargo flight over the North Atlantic from Halifax International Airport to Santa Maria Airport (Azores); three crew were lost in the accident.

On January 10, 1974, TAM-52 a DC-4 operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar (the civil air service of the Bolivian Air Force) went missing on a non-scheduled passenger flight from Santa Rosa de Yacuma Airport (IATA: SRB, ICAO: SLSR) (14°3′58″S 66°47′12″W / 14.06611°S 66.78667°W / -14.06611; -66.78667) to El Alto International Airport, La Paz. No trace was found of the aircraft, its 3 crew and twenty-one passengers.