List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1955

This is a list of accidents and incidents involving Douglas DC-3 variants that occurred in the year 1955, including aircraft based on the DC-3 airframe, such as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Lisunov Li-2. Military accidents are included; and hijackings and incidents of terrorism are covered, although acts of war are outside the scope of this list.

January

• January 12: A Castleton Inc. C-47 (N999B) collided in mid-air with TWA Flight 694, a Martin 2-0-2A, over Cincinnati, Ohio, killing all 15 on board both aircraft.
• January 13: Aeroflot Flight 31 (an Li-2, CCCP-L5000) crashed near Bykovo due to engine failure, killing the five crew; the aircraft was operating a Moscow-Gorky-Sverdlovsk cargo service.^[1]
• January 21: An Indian Airlines C-47A (VT-COZ) struck trees and crashed at Guwahati, India, killing the three crew. The aircraft was operating a Calcutta-Guwahati cargo service.^[2]
• January 23: Aeroflot Flight 613 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4510) crashed near Lipovets, Kagarlyksky district due to an in-flight fire, killing three of 11 on board. The aircraft was operating a Kiev-Simferpol passenger service.^[3]

February

• February 2: An Indian Airlines C-47A (VT-CVB) crashed at Nagpur, India due to pilot error, killing all 10 on board. The aircraft was operating a Nagpur-Delhi passenger/mail service.^[4]
• February 23: Central African Airways Flight 626, a C-47B (VP-YKO), overran the runway at Salisbury Airport after smoke entered the cockpit; the number one propeller broke off and penetrated the fuselage, killing the flight engineer; all 21 passengers and four remaining crew survived. The cause of the smoke was traced to a leaking oil hose on the number one engine.^[5]

March

• March 6: A REAL Transportes Aereos DC-3A (PP-YPZ) crashed at Vitoria da Conquista Airport following an overshoot due to landing gear problems, killing five of 21 on board.^[6]
• March 8: Mexicana Flight 591, a Douglas DC-3A-228D (XA-DIK), crashed in the Cerro del Cabre mountain range, killing all 26 on board.^[7]
• March 9: An Avianca C-47A (HK-328) struck Cerro Trujillo, killing all eight on board; the wreckage was found four days later.^[8]

April

• April 2: A GUSMP Li-2 (CCCP-N497) crashed on landing near Mys Zhelaniya after the landing gear broke through the ice; all 10 on board were able to escape, but the aircraft could not be recovered and sank four days later during a storm.^[9]

May

• May 8: Aeroflot Flight 599 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4098) crashed near Dnepropetrovsk due to wing separation caused by improper maintenance, killing the four crew. The aircraft was operating a Kiev-Dnepropetrovsk-Zaporozhye cargo service.^[10]
• May 18: East African Airways Flight 104, a C-47B (VP-KKH) struck Mount Kilimanjaro due to weather and pilot error, killing all 20 on board; the wreckage was found four days later. The accident remains the worst in Tanzania.^[11]
• May 26: A GUSMP Li-2 (CCCP-N535) crashed on an ice floe in the central Arctic basin after the right side landing gear struck an ice hummock and broke; the nose touched the ice and the fuselage then split in three after falling back on the ice. All 10 on board survived and were evacuated by another aircraft; the wreckage was set on fire and abandoned.^[12] The wreckage was sighted by the Icelandic Coast Guard on December 11, 1959.

June

• June 25: Two Indian Air Force C-47's collided in mid-air near Agra, India, killing all 19 on board both aircraft.^[13][14]

August

• August 26: A Cruzeiro do Sul DC-3A (PP-CBY) struck a mountain in the Serra do Costelo due to ATC error, pilot error and an incorrect chart, killing all 13 on board.^[15]

September

• September 8: A Currey Air Transport R4D-1 (N74663) crashed at Lockheed Air Terminal while attempting an emergency landing following engine failure, killing three of 33 on board.^[16]
• September 28: Aeroflot Flight 349 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4712) crashed near Borovichy due to engine failure and radio problems, killing seven of 19 on board.^[17]

November

• November 5: A Mexican Government C-47A (XC-ABW) crashed in Lake Texcoco due to engine failure, killing four of 17 on board; the aircraft was rebuilt in the United States and re-registered N1369N; it was then sold to the Brazilian Air Force as FAB2065.^[18]

December

• December 9: Aeroflot Flight 976 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4993) disappeared while operating a Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk-Khabarovsk service; the aircraft was found on December 21 on Mount Tordoki Yani, Khabarovsk. All 20 on board died; ATC errors and weather were blamed.^[19]
• December 9: Aeroflot Flight 101 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4339) crashed in the Tyumen region due to spatial disorientation of the crew, killing seven of nine on board. The aircraft was operating a Moscow-Petropavlovsk-Sverdlovsk-Ust-Kamenogorsk passenger service.^[20]
• December 21: Aeroflot Flight 90 (an Li-2, CCCP-L4981) disappeared while operating an Alma-Ata-Balkhash-Moscow cargo service; the aircraft was found two days later in a snowy desert 105 km from Balkhash. All six on board died; a faulty gyroscope caused by a design flaw and improper maintenance was blamed.^[21]
• December 22: A Manx Airlines C-47 (G-AMZC) was being ferried from Isle of Man to Düsseldorf when it struck trees and crashed near Düsseldorf Airport due to pilot error, killing the three crew.^[22]

See also

List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in the 1950s

References

1. Катастрофа Ли-2 МУТА ГВФ в районе а/п Быково [Accident Li-2 near Bykovo] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
2. Accident description for VT-COZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
3. Катастрофа Ли-2 Украинского ТУ ГВФ в Киевской области [Accident Li-2 in the Kiev region] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
4. Accident description for VT-CVB at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
5. Accident description for VP-YKO at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
6. Accident description for PP-YPZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
7. Accident description for XA-DIK at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
8. Accident description for HK-328 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
9. Accident description for CCCP-N497 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
10. Катастрофа Ли-2 Украинского ТУ ГВФ близ Днепропетровска [Accident Li-2 near Dnepropetrovsk] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
11. Accident description for VP-KKH at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
12. Accident description for CCCP-N535 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
13. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
14. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
15. Accident description for PP-CBY at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
16. Accident description for N74663 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
17. Катастрофа Ли-2 Северного ТУ ГВФ близ Боровичей [Accident Li-2 near Borovichy] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
18. Accident description for XC-ABW at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.
19. Катастрофа Ли-2 Дальневосточного ТУ ГВФ на горе Тордоки-Яни, Сихотэ-Алинь [Accident Li-2 Mount Tordoki Yani] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
20. Катастрофа Ли-2 Казахского ТУ ГВФ в Тюменской области [Accident Li-2 Tyumen region] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
21. Катастрофа Ли-2 Казахского ТУ ГВФ в 105 км от а/п Балхаш [Accident Li-2 105 km from Balkhash] (in Russian). airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
22. Accident description for G-AMZC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-11-12.