Date & Time:
May 3, 1943 at 1530 LT
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Operator:
Registration:
41-23728
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Bovingdon - Kaldaðarnes
MSN:
523
YOM:
1943
Country:
Iceland
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
8
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
14
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bovingdon on a transatlantic flight to the US with an intermediate stop at RAF Kaldaðarnes, Iceland. While descending to the airbase, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with rain falls, low ceiling and a near zero visibility. At an altitude of 1,100 feet and a speed of 139 knots, the airplane hit a rocky peak with its right wing and later crashed on the slope of Mt Fagradalsfjall located southeast of Keflavik. The airplane disintegrated on impact and among the 15 occupants, only the tail gunner survived with minor injuries. At the time of the accident, the pilot was trying to establish a visual contact with the ground. General Andrews was the highest-ranking Allied officer to die in the line of duty to that time in the war. At the time of his death, he was Commanding General, United States Forces, European Theater of Operations. Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland, was renamed Andrews Field (later Joint Base Andrews), for him on 7 February 1945.
Crew (93rd Squadron):
Cpt Robert H. Shannon, pilot, †
Lt Gen Frank Maxwell Andrews, copilot, †
Cpt James E. Gott, navigator, †
T/Sgt Kenneth A. Jeffers, radio operator, †
S/Sgt Lloyd C. Weir, crew chief, †
S/Sgt George A. Eisel, tail gunner,
S/Sgt Paul H. McQueen, air gunner. †
Passengers:
Adna Wright Leonard, Methodist bishop, †
Br Gen Charles H. Barth Jr., Andrews' Chief of Staff, †
Col Marlow Krum, press officer for the ETO, †
Col Frank L. Miller, chaplain, †
Lt Col Fred A. Chapman, senior aid to Gen Andrews, †
Maj Theodore C. Totman, senior aid to Gen Andrews, †
Maj Robert H. Humphrey, chaplain, †
Cpt Joseph T. Johnson. †
Crew (93rd Squadron):
Cpt Robert H. Shannon, pilot, †
Lt Gen Frank Maxwell Andrews, copilot, †
Cpt James E. Gott, navigator, †
T/Sgt Kenneth A. Jeffers, radio operator, †
S/Sgt Lloyd C. Weir, crew chief, †
S/Sgt George A. Eisel, tail gunner,
S/Sgt Paul H. McQueen, air gunner. †
Passengers:
Adna Wright Leonard, Methodist bishop, †
Br Gen Charles H. Barth Jr., Andrews' Chief of Staff, †
Col Marlow Krum, press officer for the ETO, †
Col Frank L. Miller, chaplain, †
Lt Col Fred A. Chapman, senior aid to Gen Andrews, †
Maj Theodore C. Totman, senior aid to Gen Andrews, †
Maj Robert H. Humphrey, chaplain, †
Cpt Joseph T. Johnson. †
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
