Incident Overview
Date: Saturday 14 December 1968
Aircraft Type: Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar
Owner/operator: United States Air Force – USAF
Registration Number: 51-2667
Location: 37 km ESE of San Juan –
ÿ Puerto Rico
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
Component Affected: C-119G Flying BoxcarC-119G Flying Boxcar
Category: Accident
A Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar transport plane crashed into a mountainside near San Juan, Puerto Rico, resulting in the deaths of all eight crew members. The aircraft departed Roosevelt Roads NAS (NRR) on a routine training mission to Homestead AFB, FL (HST). The plane experienced radio trouble and returned to the air base, but failed to return, leading to a wreckage discovery at an elevation of 3,400 feet on Pico del Este in the El Yunque mountain range.A Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar transport plane crashed into a mountainside near San Juan, Puerto Rico, resulting in the deaths of all eight crew members. The aircraft departed Roosevelt Roads NAS (NRR) on a routine training mission to Homestead AFB, FL (HST). The plane experienced radio trouble and returned to the air base, but failed to return, leading to a wreckage discovery at an elevation of 3,400 feet on Pico del Este in the El Yunque mountain range.
Description
A Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar transport plane was destroyed when it crashed into a mountainside near San Juan, Puerto Rico. All eight on board were killed. The airplane departed Roosevelt Roads NAS (NRR) on a routine training mission to Homestead AFB, FL (HST). After developing radio trouble, the crew decided to return to the air base. The airplane failed to return. The wreckage was found the next morning at an elevation of 3,400 feet on the side of Pico del Este in the El Yunque mountain range.
Primary Cause
Radio malfunction and navigational error leading to a return to the air base without a safe return path.Radio malfunction and navigational error leading to a return to the air base without a safe return path.Share on:
