Region
Europe

Crash of a Boeing B-29A-45-BN Superfortress in Lajes: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Operator:
Registration:
44-61747
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Lajes - Hunter
MSN:
11224
YOM:
1944
Location:
Lajes
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
15
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Lajes AFB, while in initial climb, the heavy bomber lost height and crashed one mile south of the airfield. Six crew members were killed while nine others were injured, some of them seriously.
Crew:
Maj Hugh S. Abcock Jr., †
Cpt Louis Carl Bowen, †
A1c Jimmy Dan Cherry, †
T/Sgt Issac M. Daniel, †
S/Sgt. Wilmer R. Devlin, †
1st Lt Roy Wesley Wallace, †
1st Lt William R. Sundermann,
1st Lt William J. Pederson,
A2c Fred W. Maschner,
A1c Charles M. Caillouett Jr.,
A2c Daniel L. Browder,
1st Lt Thomas W. Minter,
S/Sgt Yulee Mickler,
A2c Arthur L. Turk Jr.,
A2c James F. Locklin.
Probable cause:
Loss of control caused by an engine failure.

Crash of a Short S.25 Sunderland 3 off Madeira

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Short S.25 Sunderland
Operator:
Registration:
G-AGJN
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
YOM:
1943
Location:
Madeira
Madeira
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the ocean off Madeira Island. There were no casualties but the seaplane was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Boeing B-29A-60-BN Stratofortress off Lajes: 16 killed

Date & Time: Dec 7, 1951
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Operator:
Registration:
44-62078
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
MSN:
11555
YOM:
1944
Location:
Lajes
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
16
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
16
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Lajes Airbase, while in initial climb, the heavy bomber went out of control and crashed into the sea few hundred yards off shore. No survivors was found among the 16 occupants who were returning home for Christmas after a three month period of training in England. The airplane was performing a flight from UK to Florida with an intermediate stop in Lajes, Azores Islands, for refueling.
Probable cause:
Loss of control shortly after rotation due to strong winds.

Crash of a Boeing KB-29M Superfortress in Lajes: 11 killed

Date & Time: Apr 26, 1951 at 2340 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Operator:
Registration:
44-87704
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
12507
YOM:
1944
Location:
Lajes
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
16
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
During a night approach to Lajes Airport, Azores Islands, the four engine aircraft went out of control and crashed on an ammunition depot located near the runway threshold. Five crew members were rescued while 11 other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It is reported that the loss of control was caused by an engine failure.

Crash of a Douglas C-54D-1-DC Skymaster off Lajes: 14 killed

Date & Time: Jan 31, 1951 at 2303 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
6603
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Lisbon – Lajes
MSN:
10597
YOM:
1945
Location:
Lajes
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
14
Circumstances:
On a night approach to Lajes AFB, the four engine aircraft crashed into the sea few km offshore. All 14 occupants were killed.

Crash of a Boeing KB-29-65-BW Superfortress in Lajes: 16 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1950
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Operator:
Registration:
44-69875
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Barksdale - Lajes
MSN:
10707
YOM:
1944
Location:
Lajes
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
16
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
16
Circumstances:
On approach to Lajes, the aircraft suffered an engine failure, stalled and crashed. All 16 crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Lockheed L-749-79-46 Constellation in Santa Maria: 48 killed

Date & Time: Oct 28, 1949 at 0252 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed L-749 Constellation
Operator:
Registration:
F-BAZN
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Paris – Lisbon – Santa Maria – New York
MSN:
2546
YOM:
1947
Flight number:
AF009
Location:
Santa Maria
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
37
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
48
Captain / Total flying hours:
6705
Captain / Total hours on type:
1513.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
3010
Copilot / Total hours on type:
1582
Aircraft flight hours:
3394
Circumstances:
About 150 nm from his destination, the crew informed ground about the ETA in Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport at 0245LT. Few minutes later, the captain changed this ETA to 0255LT. During the final approach completed by night but in good weather conditions, while at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the captain confirmed to ATC that he had the runway in sight and was approaching in VFR mode. Shortly later, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Redondo (about 900 meters high) located few km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 48 occupants were killed. Among them were the French boxer Marcel Cerdan, the French violinist Ginette Neveu and her brother Jean Neveu, pianist, and Kay Kamen, artistic director by Walt Disney Studios.
Crew:
Jean de la Noue, pilot,
Charles Wolfer, copilot,
Camille Fidency, copilot,
André Villet, mechanic,
Marcel Sarrazin, mechanic,
Roger Pierre, radio operator,
Paul Giraud, radio operator,
Jean Salvatori, navigator,
Raymond Redon, steward,
Albert Brucker, steward,
Suzanne Ruig, stewardess.
Probable cause:
Without rejecting with an absolute certainty the possibility of a misinterpretation, the Commission of Inquiry believes that the inaccurate navigation of the aircraft is due to a sudden failure, at the end of the flight and unsuspected by the crew, of some elements from the receiving direction finding system, abnormal radio propagation operation or become defective. This cause combined with overconfidence due to good weather conditions in the arrival zone, conditions which have not prompted the captain to check his radio point as it would have done under unfavorable weather conditions. A visual confusion in darkness finally resulted.
Final report:
http://aviatechno.net/constellation/rapport_f-bazn.php

Crash of a Douglas C-54A-15-DC Skymaster in Santa Maria

Date & Time: Sep 22, 1948
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
XA-GUU
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Madrid – Santa Maria – Mexico City
MSN:
10390
YOM:
1944
Location:
Santa Maria
Azores Islands
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
35
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Just after liftoff from Vila do Porto Airport (Santa Maria Island), while in initial climb, the aircraft suffered a loss of power on one engine. It stalled, hit the runway surface and came to rest. There were no injuries among the 44 occupants but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair. The four engine aircraft was performing a flight from Madrid to Mexico City with an intermediate stop in Vila do Porto.
Probable cause:
Loss of engine power on takeoff.

Crash of a Douglas DC-4 in Lisbon

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1948
Type of aircraft:
Douglas DC-4
Operator:
Registration:
CS-TSB
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Lisbon - Lisbon
MSN:
3059
YOM:
1943
Location:
Lisbon
Estremadura - Lisbon District
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was involved in a local training sortie in Lisbon-Portela de Sacavém Airport. For unknown reason, the four engine aircraft landed hard. All five crew members were unhurt but the aircraft was later inspected and considered as damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-65-DL in Lisbon

Date & Time: Jun 8, 1948
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
CS-TDF
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Lisbon - Lisbon
MSN:
18998
YOM:
1943
Location:
Lisbon
Estremadura - Lisbon District
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a training mission in Lisbon. Shortly after takeoff from Lisbon-Portela de Sacavém Airport, while in initial climb, the instructor shut down an engine. The aircraft stalled and crashed near the runway end. While all five crew members were injured, the aircraft was destroyed.
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