Kansas

Following a navigational training exercise, the airplane departed Orlando in the evening of February 18 to return to base at Kearney, Nebraska. En route, weather conditions were poor and over Kansas, while low on fuel, the crew decided to divert to Smoky Hill AFB, Salina. Due to limited visibility, the crew failed to realize he was approaching Hutchinson Airport which is located 90 km south southwest of Salina. In a zero visibility approach, the airplane impacted the ground and crashed, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
1st Lt Ned D. Knaphus , pilot,
2nd Lt Bruce S. Upson, copilot,
T/Sgt Earl C. Woollenweber, flight engineer,
2nd Lt Carl T. Miller, navigator,
T/Sgt Bernard Budimirovich, radio operator,
2nd Lt Raymond L. Zeiter Jr., bombardier,
S/Sgt Walter E. Bybee, air gunner,
S/Sgt Max W. McArthur, air gunner,
Pvt James A. Farrell, air gunner.

En route from Casper to Tinker AFB and while passing over Kansas, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions. The airplane was seen flying out the cloud layer then entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a huge explosion in an open field near Bogue. All six occupants were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Paul M. Capaccio, pilot,
F/O Latteimer Stewart, copilot,
1st Lt Jacob M. Madsen Jr., navigator,
T/Sgt. Thaddeus I. Donlavage, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Frank Culver, radio operator.
M/Sgt H. M. Bloch.

While returning to base following a practice bombing exercise, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. In an attempt to fly over the stormy area, the captain tried to climb to 20,000 feet but the airplane stalled twice, probably due to icing. Eventually, the crew decided to bail out and abandoned the airplane that entered a dive and crashed in a prairie located 13 km north of Arnold. Four crew parachuted to safety, one was injured and the navigator 1st Lt James D. Graham was killed after his parachute failed to open.

Shortly after takeoff from Topeka AAF, while in initial climb, the airplane stalled and crashed 1,5 km south of the airfield, bursting into flames. All eight crew members were killed. The airplane was en route to Holloman AFB, Alamogordo.
Crew:
1st Lt William L. Stephenson,
2nd Lt James B. Hinds,
2nd Lt Jack C. Mulligan,
S/Sgt Arthur J. Harvey Jr.,
S/Sgt Blaine W. Huston,
S/Sgt George P. Richards Jr.,
S/Sgt Louis A. Scheer,
Sgt Donald R. Groves.

En route, the airplane caught fire for unknown reason. All 10 crewmen abandoned the aircraft and bailed out. Out of control, the airplane went into a spin and crashed in an open field located 5 km north of Admire. All 10 occupants parachuted to safety.

The four engine airplane departed Schilling AFB (Smoky AFB), Salina, on a flight to DeRidder, Louisiana, with a crew of 10 on board. Almost immediately after liftoff, while climbing to a height of about 75 feet, the left wing dropped and hit the runway surface, causing the airplane to crash and to catch fire. Five crew members were killed and five others were seriously injured.
Those killed were:
1st Lt Edward G. Riley, bombardier,
1st Lt Robert I. Van Horn, navigator,
S/Sgt Dale V. Brown, assistant flight engineer,
S/Sgt Robert L. Grace, radio operator,
S/Sgt Francis H. Ayers, air gunner.

The airplane departed Topeka on a routine navigation exercise to Pueblo, Colorado. While cruising at an altitude of 5,000 feet in clouds, the crew encountered severe icing conditions when the airplane suffered a catastrophic structural failure on the tail section. The vertical stabilizer, the fin and the rudder detached, causing the airplane to enter a dive and to crash in an open field located 5,6 km northwest of White City, bursting into flames. A crew parachuted to safety and was uninjured while 11 other occupants were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Robert Clyne, pilot, †
1st Lt Norman A. Kendall, copilot, †
2nd Lt Joseph P. Hulder Jr., navigator, †
2nd Lt Clifford A. Smallwood, bombardier, †
S/Sgt Vernon A. Larson, flight engineer, †
T/Sgt Thomas P. Merlino, radio operator. †
Passengers:
Lt Maleckas,
2nd Lt Aldon A. Alleman, pilot, †
F/O James G. Masters, pilot, †
2nd Lt John Sedor, navigator, †
S/Sgt Leonard F. McNabb , flight engineer, †
S/Sgt Gustave Dzingoski, radio operator. †

For unknown reasons, the airplane crashed upon landing at Fairfax Field and was damaged beyond repair. There were no fatalities.

During a training exercise, the crew experienced unknown technical problems and was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in a field in Garnett and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

A midair collision involving aircraft of United States registry, a Douglas DC-3, NC18951, and a US Army aircraft, type C-53, registered 41-20116, occurred at an altitude of between 3,500 and 3,900 feet about 4 1/4 miles northeast of the Kansas City Range Station and 1 3/4 miles north of the on course of the northeast leg of the Kansas City Radio Range. At the time of the accident, NC18951 was operating on a check flight in the vicinity of the Kansas City Municipal Airport as a part of the routine instrument flight instruction of Transcontinental & Western Air. The C-53 was on a non-stop cross-country flight from Indianapolis to Wichita via Kansas City, in the service of the US Army Air Forces. The DC-3 received major damage from the collision in the air and was demolished by the resultant crash landing in a group of small trees in the vicinity of Linden, Kansas. The C-53 received major damage as a result of the collision but succeeded in landing at the Kansas City Municipal Airport without further damage. The DC-3 captain sustained minor injuries. None of the 5 other persons involved was injured.