Douglas DC-3

Flight 16 departed Kansas City, Missouri, at 0724LT, bound for Omaha, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa, and other intermediate stops with final destination as Minneapolis, Minnesota. The crew consisted of Captain James H. Graham, First Officer Philip K. Toler, and Stewardess Marilyn Woodbury. Ernest F. Eilert, a trainee copilot, was riding in the cockpit as the fourth crew member. From Kansas City, the aircraft carried 21 passengers, cargo, and fuel, which resulted in a total gross weight of 25,100 pounds, which was within the certificated unit of 25,200 pounds The load was properly distributed with relation to the center of gravity of the aircraft. Weather conditions over the intended route were instrument with a general overcast lowering from 4,200 feet at Kansas City to about 1,000 feet at Omaha. No difficulty was experienced as the flight proceeded to Omaha at 4,000 feet in accordance with an instrument flight plan. A normal landing was made on Runway 11 about 1,000 feet from its approach end, but near the completion of the landing roll the aircraft ran off the right side of the runway, passing over one of the high intensity runway lights. Captain Graham reported this to one of the ground crew at Omaha, and both the aircraft and light were inspected for damage. None was found and the aircraft was prepared for departure to Sioux City. At 0841 the flight took off for Sioux City on an instrument flight plan with Omaha as the alternate airport. There were 21 passengers, 920 pounds of cargo, and 1,500 pounds of fuel, which resulted in a take-off weight of 24,630 pounds. The take-off was without incident and no difficulty was encountered en route to Sioux City, the flight proceeding at 3,000 feet altitude. At 0904 Flight 16 reported over the Sloan Fan Marker, 11.9 miles south-southeast of the approach end of Runway 35 at the Sioux City Airport. It was immediately cleared by the Sioux City Airport tower for a “straight-in” approach and landing on Runway 35. Weather information was furnished to the flight as precipitation, ceiling 500 feet, sky obscured, visibility one mile in light snow showers, and wind from the east at 14 miles per hour. The medium-intensity lights for Runway 17/35 were turned on and placed at the position of full brilliance. Following receipt of this information, the flight requested permission to land to the southeast on Runway 13 and received clearance to do so. At 0909 the flight reported that it was contact over the southeast corner of the field and was cleared to land. At the same time the aircraft was seen by a ground witness one mile southeast of the airport. Shortly thereafter, it was sighted approximately over the intersection of Runways 4/22 and 17/35 on an east-southeast heading. A left climbing turned to the north was then made and the pilot was advised that he was cleared to land on either Runway 17 or Runway 13. The pilot was also advised by the tower that there would be a 90-degree cross-wind if he elected to land on Runway 17. All transmissions to the flight were acknowledged The aircraft was not further observed, and crashed about 600 feet north and west of the approach end of Runway 17. Fire developed immediately. Three crew members and 13 passengers were killed while nine other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.

On touchdown, the aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the right, hit a wooden perimeter fence, lost its undercarriage and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced due to fog.

While cruising by night and in foggy conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of the Mt Moran (12,605 feet high) located in the northwest part of Wyoming, south of the Yellowstone National Park. The aircraft departed Chico, California, at 1515LT, to Billings, Montana, carrying eight children, ten adults and a crew of three. The aircraft hit the mountain at approximately 1750LT. As the aircraft failed to arrive in Billings, SAR operations were conducted. The following day, farmers told the local authorities that fire was spotted in the mountain and that it was not possible to find anything burning at this period of the year except maybe the crashed aircraft. As the accident zone was unreachable, it took time to rescuers to find the wreckage. All 21 occupants have been killed.

During the takeoff roll, the left engine suffered vibrations and the captain decided to abandon the takeoff. In a certain confusion, the copilot inadvertently retracted the undercarriage, causing the aircraft to sink on its belly. It skidded for several yards before coming to rest. While the airplane was damaged beyond repair, there were no casualties.

Prior to takeoff, the engines were given a pre-flight check, following which the takeoff roll was commended. The flaps were in the "full up" position for the takeoff. The aircraft became airborne in a normal manner approximately 1,500 feet down the runway and climbed to an altitude of approximately 50 feet and leveled off. At this time, the landing gear was retracted and the air speed was estimated to be 105 to 110 miles per hour by qualified observers. Approximately 3,000 feet from the point of take-off parts were observed falling from the left engine and the aircraft made a shallow turn to the left. At this time, the left propeller appeared to be fully feathered. The flight continued in a left turn, slowly losing altitude until it struck a grove of trees 1.5 miles southeast of the airport. The elevation of the terrain at this point was 480 feet which is 256 feet below the elevation of the airport. The tree tops were 80 feet above the ground. First impact with the trees was made on a heading of approximately 60 degrees and as the aircraft descended through the trees, it turned anti-clockwise 180 degrees to the original heading. Following impact with the trees, the fuel tanks ruptured causing a fire which consumed the fuselage. Sixteen of the occupants were fatally injured and seven seriously injured. The survivors escaped either through broken windows on the right side, or the right rear escape hatch.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. There were no casualties.

The aircraft had departed Miami, Florida, at 1045 on June 9, 1950, for Kingston, Jamaica. It arrived at Kingston at 1512 and departed at 1545 on an instrument flight plan of four hours to cruise at 9,500 feet direct to .Maracaibo, Venezuela, with Barranquilla, Colombia, as an alternate. The flight plan was filed with Kingston ARTC personally by the copilot. There was sufficient fuel on board at departure from Kingston for a flight of approximately five hours and thirty minutes duration. Radio contacts were made with Kingston at 1558, 1658, and 1752. The 1752 message indicated the flight's position at 1745 as 14 degrees north latitude, altitude 9,500 feet, and the ETA at Maracaibo at 1915. No longitude was given. This position report to Kingston was intercepted by Balboa, Canal Zone, and relayed to Maracaibo. At 1802 Balboa sent a message to the flight advising it that the Maracaibo radio was already closed on FA (air to ground) and closing soon on FX (point to point). It was therefore suggested that Balboa be contacted to close the flight plan when the aircraft landed at Maracaibo. At 1852 the flight advised Balboa that it was "over the coast line at 5,000 feet and descending VFR." This was the last message received from the aircraft which never arrived at Maracaibo.

On touchdown, the right main gear failed. The aircraft veered off runway to the right, lost its right engine and came to rest. All three crew members were unhurt while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crashed in unknown circumstances few minutes after its takeoff from Iloilo City. All four occupants were killed.

An undercarriage failed during takeoff roll. The aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. There were no casualties.