Date: | Sunday 8 August 1943 |
Time: | 19:58 |
Type: | Curtiss C-46A-10-CU Commando |
Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force - USAAF |
Registration: | 41-12343 |
MSN: | 26470 |
Year of manufacture: | 1943 |
Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Homestead AAF, FL (HST) -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Homestead AAF, FL (HST/KHST) |
Destination airport: | Homestead AAF, FL (HST/KHST) |
Narrative:About 19:50, the C-46 took off from Homestead AAF on a local test flight. Several minutes after takeoff the no. 1 engine caught fire. One of the passengers bailed out as the pilot attempted to return to the airport.
An explosion occurred and the airplane crashed.
It appeared that a leaking or broken fuel line in or adjacent to the wheel well permitted the accumulation of gasoline and fumes within the left wheel well, left center section and left wing. The fumes were ignited by the engine exhaust.
Sources:
Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945, Vol. 2: July 1943-July 1944 / Anthony J. Mireles
Location
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |