Date & Time:
Mar 21, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Operator:
Registration:
42-40069
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Kunming – Chabua
MSN:
1146
YOM:
1943
Country:
India
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The airplane named 'Pregnant Swan' departed Kunming on a flight to Chabua AFB, Assam. The crew failed to locate the destination airport and continued to the west. As the airplane failed to arrive in Chabua, SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended as no trace of the airplane nor the crew was found. The wreckage was found 20 September 2008 in a dense wooded area located at an altitude of 2,800 feet near Itanagar, some 160 km west southwest of Chabua AFB. All 10 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Maj Robert W. Fensler, pilot,
2nd Lt Phillips G. Huffman, pilot,
2nd Lt Gerald E. Owens, copilot,
T/Sgt Erle H. Thayer, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Aubrey E. Stevenson, assistant flight engineer,
2nd Lt Frederick W. Ossenfort, navigator,
T/Sgt Norman H. Prix, radio operator,
S/Sgt Louis F. Verhaegen, assistant radio operator,
2nd Lt Harvey M. Nix, bombardier,
S/Sgt Sandav E. Rivardo, air gunner.
Crew:
Maj Robert W. Fensler, pilot,
2nd Lt Phillips G. Huffman, pilot,
2nd Lt Gerald E. Owens, copilot,
T/Sgt Erle H. Thayer, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Aubrey E. Stevenson, assistant flight engineer,
2nd Lt Frederick W. Ossenfort, navigator,
T/Sgt Norman H. Prix, radio operator,
S/Sgt Louis F. Verhaegen, assistant radio operator,
2nd Lt Harvey M. Nix, bombardier,
S/Sgt Sandav E. Rivardo, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
