Date & Time: Aug 15, 1942 at 2130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
42-6463
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Fayetteville - Hempstead Plains – Providence
MSN:
4915
YOM:
1942
Location:
Peru
Massachusetts
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
15
Pax fatalities:
12
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
16
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Fayetteville-Pope AFB to Providence, Rhode Island, with an intermediate stop at Hemsptead Plains-Mitchell Field, Long Island, NY. On board were four crew members and 15 paratroopers. En route to Rhode Island, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog. Due to low visibility, the crew lost his orientation and the airplane went off the prescribed flight route and drifted to the north. At an altitude of 2,200 feet, the airplane collided with trees and crashed in a wooded area located on the Garnett Peak, some 1,6 km east of Peru. All four crew members and 12 paratroopers were killed. Three others survived but were severely wounded.
Those killed were:
Crew:
2nd Lt Joseph J. Fields Jr.,
S/Sgt Robert W. Lamon,
S/Sgt Charles M. Scott III,
Cpl Austin W. Weeces.
Passengers:
Hyman B. Flinkman,
Sam B. Hathorn,
John H. Kelley,
Frank A. Lastosky,
Joseph C. Neurohr,
Jack E. Palmer,
Gardner W. Plain,
Stanley L. Racine,
Norman Sands,
Steve L. Schollin,
James I. Thompson,
James D. Westbrooks.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.