Lockheed C-60 LodeStar

The twin engine airplane departed Moncton at 2345LT on May 7 on a cargo flight to Gander. At 0313LT the following night, the crew contacted the Aerodrome Control Officer at Gander Airport to request a landing clearance. The aircraft was given landing clearance by the aerodrome control officer, and was told to check their wheels down. The messages were acknowledged by 557. At this time the ceiling was practically unlimited. The aircraft was heard to pass over the airfield shortly thereafter, but the ceiling had unexpectedly fallen to 700 feet. This fly over was apparently done on instruments. The crew radioed to indicate they had missed the field and were trying again. The aircraft then acknowledged being given the ceiling height and barometric pressure by the station. The aircraft broke through the 600 feet ceiling, and was advised to circle and approach runway 27. The aircraft approached, but seemed to be lined up with the wrong runway and was advised to circle again and attempt runway 27. On the second attempt, the aircraft still did not turn enough and was again told to attempt again. The aircraft was instructed to make a right turn over the field, but, at this point, 557 was in a steep bank and went into a stall, losing altitude until it crashed 3 km east of the airport, bursting into flames. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O Humphrey Svendsen, pilot,
W/O Charles Needham Allen, copilot,
Lac Allan Gerald Sewellm radio operator.
Source: https://caspir.warplane.com/

Suffered a ground accident at Kansas City Airport. There were no fatalities and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

The airplane was on its way from Cleveland, Ohio, to Monroe, Louisiana. Due to the deterioration of the weather conditions, the crew decided to divert to Evansville-Dress Airport. During the final approach completed at night and in marginal weather conditions, the twin engine airplane impacted ground few km short of runway and was destroyed by impact forces. All 10 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Paul D. Jones,
Cpt William V. Litvin,
1st Lt George F. Dennison,
1st Lt Carlton B. Overton Jr.,
2nd Lt Howard D. Baer,
2nd Lt John W. Kerrigan,
2nd Lt Charles W. McLaughlin,
2nd Lt Micharl W. Schaffer,
S/Sgt James P. Taylor,
S/Sgt Arthur A. Vandoli.

Crashed on takeoff for unknown reasons. There were no fatalities.

The twin engine airplane suffered a ground collision at South Plains AFB on was destroyed. The crew was engaged in a local training flight when the accident occurred.
Crew:
F/O George S. Kreps +2.

Crashed in unknown circumstances at Port Moresby-Wards Airfield and damaged beyond repair. There were no fatalities.

While performing a training flight out from Bolling AFB, the crew was forced to make an emergency landing after both engines could not be restarted, maybe following a deliberate action on part of the crew who wanted to feather the props. The emergency landing was completed in a field in Clinton and the airplane was damaged beyond repair. Both crew members escaped unhurt.

The crew was performing a flight from Townsville to Cooktown. The twin engine airplane failed to arrive at destination and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the Coral Sea between both cities. Lost without trace.

The airplane departed Moncton, New Brunswick, at 2345 GMT on 7 May 1943 on a cargo transport flight to Gander. At 0313 GMT the following day, the aircraft contacted the Aerodrome Control Officer at Gander Station to request landing clearance. The aircraft was given landing clearance by P/O Thomas Howard Murray, aerodrome control officer, and was told to check their wheels down. The messages were acknowledged by 557. At this time the ceiling was practically unlimited. The aircraft was heard to pass over Gander airfield shortly thereafter, but the ceiling had unexpectedly fallen to 700 feet. This lowering of the ceiling possibly meant that ice may have formed on the aerials. It is unlikely that icing would have occurred on the wings or engines. This fly over was apparently done on instruments. The Lodestar contacted the Control Officer to indicate they had missed the field and were to try again. The aircraft then acknowledged being given the ceiling height and barometric pressure by the station. At this point, the landing of the aircraft on the control tower side was taken over by the station manager of Trans Canada Airlines (TCA), Mr. Harry Beardsell. The aircraft was carrying cargo and under the operational control of TCA and therefore should be under TVA radio coverage. Instructions were passed to the aircraft by TCA as to the proper landing procedures for Gander, and these were acknowledged. The aircraft broke through the now 600 ft. ceiling, and was advised to circle and approach runway 27 (note, runway 27 is no longer in use at YQX; ourairports.com). At this point, TCA spoke directly to the pilot. According to Beardsell, he advised Svendsen to make one more attempt before proceeding to Sydney where the ceiling was at 1000 ft. and visibility was 3 miles. P/O Murray, who was listening to the communications between the control tower and Lodestar 557 denied that the aircraft was advised of a secondary landing location. According to the radio log, it was actually Lodestar 557 who suggested that it would try for one more landing and if not successful would return to Sydney and TCA seconded the decision. The aircraft approached, but seemed to be lined up with the wrong runway and was advised to circle again and attempt runway 27. P/O Murray believed that the boundary lights were confusing 557, causing it to line up with the wrong runway, so he switched off the lights and informed the aircraft through Beardsell. One the second attempt, the aircraft did not turn enough and was again told that it would probably not make it to the runway and to attempt again. The aircraft was told to make a right turn over the field near the airport, but it could be seen that the aircraft would not make the turn successfully. The pilot was advised to pull up two or three times by TCA, but at this point 557 was in a steep bank and went into a stall, losing altitude until it crashed. One witness saw the aircraft moments before the crash and stated it was flying very low at 200 ft. with engines functioning properly. The crash was indicated by a flash followed by a second, brighter flash, indicating it had crashed and was burning. Fire trucks and ambulances were dispatched to the scene. It crashed at 0340 GMT on 8 May 1943 approximately two miles east of the RCAF Station in Gander. All crew were killed.
Crew (164th Squadron):
P/O Humphrey Svendsen, pilot,
W/O Charles Needham Allan, pilot,
Lac Allan Gerald Sewell, wireless operator.
Source & photo:
http://www.planecrashgirl.ca/2016/03/17/lodestar-557/

Five minutes after take off from Batavia-Kemayoran Airport, while climbing, the left engine failed. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the airplane hit tree tops and crashed on a house located in the suburb of the capital city. All five occupants in the aircraft were killed as well as seven people in the house. The Lt Gen Berenschot was returning to his headquarter in Bandung following an international conference in Batavia with Gen Popham of the British Empire Army Forces.
Crew:
Johan Christiaan Frederik Knapp, pilot,
Cpt Watkins, pilot,
Franciscus van Kampen,
Eelco Heinrich Felix de Haan.
Passenger:
Lt Gen Gerardus Johannes Berenschot.