ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 81204
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| Date: | Wednesday 16 February 1944 |
| Time: | 16:10 |
| Type: | Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldiver |
| Owner/operator: | VRF-2, US Navy |
| Registration: | 18469 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gila Bend, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | NAF Columbus, Ohio |
| NAS San Diego, California |
On 16 February 1944 Ensign John Nichols of VFR-2 (Air Ferry Squadron Two, US Navy) took off from NAF Columbus, Ohio, to ferry the SB2C-1 BuNo 18469 to NAS San Diego, California, but was killed at 1610 hrs when his Helldiver crashed and burned one mile west of the Army Air Base at Gila Bend, Arizona. The left wing folded in flight and the plane spun into the ground. Upon investigation it was determined that the locking pin had been released to allow to wing to fold. The locking king fillings on the left wing were all intact, none of the sections broken. It was not determined what caused the pin to retract.
The strange unexplained part of this accident was that the pilot’s hand book was found partially burned in the vicinity of the wreckage and opened to the page relative to the wing fold mechanism, weather this is coincidental or not was indeterminate.
Sources:
VRF-2 War Diary, February 1944 (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/270663022)
Staff Headquarters Western Sea Frontier War Diary, February 1944 (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/1/277720873)
https://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/strange-wing-fold-crash-story-3570771?mobile_version=1
http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/John-Nichols-98491362
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_Bend_Air_Force_Auxiliary_Field
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=32.887500&lon=-112.720000&z=12&m=b
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Nov-2010 11:55 | ASN archive | Added |
| 23-Feb-2016 12:01 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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