Incident Overview

Date: Thursday 23 November 1961
Aircraft Type: Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar
Owner/operator: United States Air Force – USAF
Registration Number: 50-0145
Location: 76 km S of Whitehorse, YT – ÿ Canada
Phase of Flight: Initial climb
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 10
Component Affected: Brake drumBrake drum
Category: Accident
A Boxcar aircraft, a 446th Troop Carrier Wing aircraft, crashed south of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, following a joint Alaska exercise. The aircraft suffered a seized brake drum fire, leading to a crash after takeoff. Five men perished, while five others escaped unharmed. Ground search efforts focused on a 64 square mile area of forested terrain with lakes, rivers, and swamps.A Boxcar aircraft, a 446th Troop Carrier Wing aircraft, crashed south of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, following a joint Alaska exercise. The aircraft suffered a seized brake drum fire, leading to a crash after takeoff. Five men perished, while five others escaped unharmed. Ground search efforts focused on a 64 square mile area of forested terrain with lakes, rivers, and swamps.

Description

The Boxcar was the second of two 446th Troop Carrier Wing aircraft that were returning to Ellington AFB, TX after an Alaska joint exercise, King Crab II. Their route was to take them from Elmendorf, AK, through Whitehorse, YT (Canada) and McChord AFB, WA. Shortly after takeoff from Whitehorse the Boxcar ran into trouble due to a seized brake drum that caught fire. The aircraft crashed 47mi (76km) south of Whitehorse, killing five men, but five other men bailed out of the plane shortly before it crashed. Three of the men who parachuted were rescued the next day, but the other two men could not be located. Several ground parties and aircraft searched an area of 64 square miles (103 square kilometers). The area was heavily forested with many lakes, rivers and swamps and the weather was reported to be clear with temperatures ranging from as low as -4øF (-20øC). The plight of the two men was not good and they had died before rescue. The wreckage is still located near Annie Lake Road YT at 60ø22’18.7″N 134ø57’08.2″W.

Source of Information

http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aviation/plane_crash-c119-1961.htmlhttp://www.explorenorth.com/library/aviation/plane_crash-c119-1961.html

Primary Cause

Seized brake drum fire during takeoff.Seized brake drum fire during takeoff.

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