List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in the 1930s
This is a list of accidents and incidents involving the Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST) and Douglas DC-3 that occurred in the period from the first flight of the prototype in 1935 to 1939. The first variant of the DC-3 to fly was a DST, on 17 December 1935; the DST and DC-3 entered production the following year and the first of the type to crash was a DC-3, in 1937. Military accidents and incidents of sabotage are included, although acts of war are outside the scope of this list.
1937
[edit]- February 9
- A DC-3A-197 (registration NC16073) operating as United Airlines Flight 23 from Burbank to Mills Field Municipal Airport (now San Francisco International Airport) crashed into San Francisco Bay during landing approach.[1] The first officer accidentally dropped his microphone which jammed the elevator controls, killing all 11 on board in the first loss of a DC-3.[2]
- April 3
- A DC-3-194B (registration PH-ALP, named Pluvier) struck Mount Baldy, Arizona on its delivery flight to KLM, killing all eight on board.[3]
- October 6
- A KLM DC-3-194B (registration PH-ALS, named Specht) crashed after takeoff from Betoetoe Aerodrome in the Dutch East Indies, killing four of the twelve occupants.[4]
- October 17
- A DC-3A-197 (registration NC16074) operating as United Airlines Flight 1 struck a mountain 20 miles (32 km) south of Knight, Wyoming in bad weather, killing all 19 on board. A combination of radio failure, poor ground visibility and the weather was the cause of the crash.[5]
1938
[edit]- May 24
- A DST-A-207A (registration NC18108) operating as United Airlines Flight 9 crashed near Cleveland Municipal Airport following an engine fire, killing all 10 on board.[6]
- July 15
- A Pan American World Airways DC-3-228 (registration NC18114) crashed on climbout from Morón, Argentina; the aircraft impacted the side of a hospital building. All 13 on board survived, however a person on the ground died.[7]
- November 14
- A KLM DC-3-194D (registration PH-ARY, named Ijsvogel) struck terrain and crashed on approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport en route from Berlin, killing 6 of the 19 people on board; the cause was not determined.[8]
- November 29
- A DC-3A-191 (registration NC16066) operating as United Airlines Flight 6 ditched off Point Reyes, California due to fuel exhaustion after the crew experienced navigation problems, killing five of the seven occupants.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Transport: Crash of the Week". Time. 1937-02-22. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ Accident description for NC16073 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 24 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for PH-ALP at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 24 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for PH-ALS at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 24 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for NC16074 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 24 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for NC18108 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2015-5-15.
- ^ Accident description for NC18114 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 26 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for PH-ARY at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 26 May 2013.
- ^ Accident description for NC16066 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 26 May 2013.