Incident Overview
Date: Friday 21 April 1950
Aircraft Type: Douglas C-54D-10-DC (DC-4)
Owner/operator: United States Air Force – USAF
Registration Number: 42-72704
Location: 34 km SW of Tachikawa Air Base –
ÿ Japan
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 35 / Occupants: 35
Component Affected: Aircraft Flight Control SystemAircraft Flight Control System
Category: Accident
A Skymaster aircraft experienced a near-miss near the O-Shima radio range station during its enroute flight from Clark Air Base to Tachikawa Air Base in Japan. The aircraft descended to 5000 feet and encountered Mount Hirugatake, a 1279m mountain, resulting in a collision.A Skymaster aircraft experienced a near-miss near the O-Shima radio range station during its enroute flight from Clark Air Base to Tachikawa Air Base in Japan. The aircraft descended to 5000 feet and encountered Mount Hirugatake, a 1279m mountain, resulting in a collision.
Description
The Skymaster was on a flight from Clark Air Base to Tachikawa Air Base in Japan with an enroute stop at Okinawa-Kadena AFB. During the last leg of the flight, the crew reported overhead the O-Shima radio range station and were cleared to descend to 5000 feet. In fact the plane was some 40 km south-west of O-Shima. The crew descended over mountainous terrain until the airplane flew into the side of Mount Hirugatake, a 1279 m high mountain which is located near Mount Fuji.
Source of Information
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp, http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.htmlhttp://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp, http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.htmlPrimary Cause
Unexpected radio contact with an adjacent station and subsequent descent to a high altitude near a mountain range.Unexpected radio contact with an adjacent station and subsequent descent to a high altitude near a mountain range.Share on:
