Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-30-CU in India

Date & Time: Jan 1, 1944
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-24748
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
26669
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crew was performing a flight from China. En route, weather conditions worsened and the pilots were unable to localize the destination airport. They completed several circuits over the region but did not localize the airport. Eventually, due to fuel exhaustion, the captain instructed the crew to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. Without pilot, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a field. The aircraft was destroyed while all crew were unhurt.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-15-CU Command in Besokupe Tea Estate: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 10, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-12389
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
26516
YOM:
1943
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances in a place called Besokupe Tea Estate, India. At least one crew member was killed, 1st Lt Theodore L. McLendon.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-5-CU Commando in India

Date & Time: May 17, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-12300
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
26427
YOM:
1943
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was apparently returning to base in Assam when the airplane caught fire in flight. The pilot made an emergency landing in a field and all occupants escaped uninjured. The airplane was destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
In-flight fire of unknown origin.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF Liberator Express in Arunachal Pradesh: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 24, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
41-23696
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Yangkai - Chabua
MSN:
491
YOM:
1941
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Yangkai AAF, Yunnan, at 1400LT on a flight to Chabua, Assam. It failed to arrive at destination and was declared missing after all SAR operations were abandoned on 26 May 1943. The wreckage was found on 19 October 2003 in an uninhabited area located in the Stated of Arunachal Pradesh, at an altitude of 4,030 metres. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Jennings H. Mease Sr., pilot,
2nd Lt Samuel E. Monday Jr., copilot,
Pvt Mervyn E. Sims, flight engineer,
2nd Lt James M. Jeffrey, navigator,
S/Sgt Elwood E. Stevens, radio operator.

Crash of a Douglas C-53-DO Skytrooper in India: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 26, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
41-20128
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Kunming - Sookerating
MSN:
4898
YOM:
1942
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane failed to arrive in Sookerating following a flight from Kunming. It is possible that it crashed in the mountains located in the northeast part of India. Lost without trace.
Crew:
Cpt Charles E. Floro, pilot +2.