ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98393
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 21 April 1944 |
| Time: | 05:20 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 468th BGp /793rd BSqn USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-6369 |
| MSN: | 3503 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 11 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Salt Flats, 20 miles SE of Karachi, Sindh Province -
 India
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Karachi, Sindh Province, India |
| Kharagpur, India |
B-29 42-6369: Delivered to the USAAF 21 February 1944. Departed Smoky Hill AAF, Kansas for the CBI (China-Burma-India Theater of Operations) on 13 April 1944. Assigned to 468th Bomb Group. 793rd Bomb Squadron, but crashed before receipt in India when written off en route on 21 April 1944
The crew was performing a ferry flight from the US to Karachi when he encountered dust storm over India and was forced to abandon the aircraft which crashed 20 miles southeast of Karachi, Sindh Province. The aircraft was destroyed but all occupants were rescued unharmed after baling out. According to published reports (believed sourced from the squadron operational records book):
"Captain Robert T (Bob) Darden, pilot, describes his last leg as follows: “Left Karachi as 10:50 local time, April 22nd. Two engines cut out at 05:20 local time, flight terminated, no landing.” The entire Crew bailed out over the Salt Flats near Karachi at an altitude below 2,000 feet with Captain Robert T. (Bob) Darden going out at 500 feet.
They returned to Karachi in dugout canoes and finished the trip to Kharagpur, via Air Transport Command, on the 27th April. It was our first major accident but we felt fortunate indeed that none of the Crew were lost or injured seriously.
Quick thinking and skilled handling by Captain Robert (Bob) T. Darden deserved much of the credit. The men of Crew #4 reached Salua with all their worldly possessions destroyed in the burned out wreck of A/C 42-6369. Burton has been sponging ever since."
(NOTE Karachi became part of Pakistan after the partition of India and the creation of the country of Pakistan in 1947).
Sources:
1. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1944/archives/crash-of-a-boeing-b-29-15-bw-superfortress-near-karachi/]
4. http://www.20thaf.org/groups/ac%20data/468th_AC.htm
5. http://www.468thbombgroup.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=AaZKxwEte2k%3D&tabid=102&mid=544
6. https://www.fold3.com/image/46953384?ann=9fd0a600-9239-11e4-1028-410c00597d0a
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Apr-2013 19:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Jun-2017 23:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2020 08:51 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation