Presque Isle | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane was dispatched to accompany four Lockheed P-38 Lightnings from Houlton Field to Presque Isle, Maine, en route to England. After landing, the bomber ground looped, coming to rest into a ditch. There were no casualties.

Probable cause:

Loss of control after landing when the brakes failed due to a mechanical failure.

Crash of a Lockheed C-40D Electra Junior on Mt Howe Brook: 6 killed

Date & Time: May 24, 1942 at 1135 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed 12 Electra Junior

Operator:

Registration:

42-22249

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Bolling Field – Montreal – Presque Isle – Houlton – Montreal – Bolling Field

MSN:

1273

YOM:

1942

Location:

Mt Howe Brook

Maine

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Bolling Field AFB (Washington DC) on May 23 bound for Houlton, Maine, with intermediate stops in Montreal and Presque Isle. The crew departed Montreal at 0934LT on May 24 with a crew of two and four passengers, among them Lt Col Louis Gimbel. While cruising at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the crew requested to climb to 7,000 feet and confirmed an ETA at 1134LT. In poor weather conditions, the crew was unable to locate the airports of Presque Isle and Houlton. Flying too low in low visibility, the airplane collided with trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located in the Howe Brook Mountain Range, between Presque Isle and Houlton. The airplane was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Clarence Allen Wright, pilot,
S/Sgt Frederick J. Taylor, flight engineer.
Passengers:
Lt Col Louis Stanley Gimbel Jr.,
Cpt John D. Franciscus,
Cpt Gilbert M. Herback,
2nd Lt Earl R. Wilkinson.
Sources & photos: http://www.mewreckchasers.com/C40.html

Probable cause:

The board of inquiry was unable to determine a cause, but listed weather and pilot inexperience under instrument conditions as factors. Controlled flight into terrain.