Date & Time:
Nov 9, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-5088
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bluie East Two - Bluie East Two
MSN:
3627
YOM:
1942
Country:
Greenland
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After a USAAF Douglas C-53 Skytrooper registered 42-15569 with five men aboard was missing since November 5, the B-17 registered 42-5088 was diverted on its ferry flight from USA to the UK to join the search for the crew. During the search operation, it approached the approximate center of its search grid from seaward where it encountered a local low cloud ceiling. The airplane reversed course to go around the weather and headed in again, going northward into Køge Bay fjord to the west, and flew into a visual 'white-out' condition, which became an unseen three-sided trap. The pilot began to turn away to the left, causing the left wing tip to struck the unseen Ice Cap. The plane skidded for about 200 metres on the surface of the Køge Bay fjord's active glacier, broke apart at the aft bulkhead of the radio compartment, rear of the wings. The broken-off tail section was overhanging a large open crevasse, and another crevasse was in front of the plane. The plane was at about 4,000 feet elevation and 47 km northwest of Beach Head Station. All nine occupants survived the accident and were rescued.
