44-69803

En route, the airplane suffered engine problems and one of them caught fire. Apparently, seven crew members were able to bail out and were later rescued while five others were killed when the heavy bomber crashed into the sea few km west of Kaesong. Crew: S/Sgt Thomas C. Baker, † Cpt Osborne T. Carlisle, † 1st Lt James W. Carney, A2C Willard M. Denn, † 1st Lt Carl G. Happ Jr., † Sgt James W. Hendricks, Sgt Theodore G. Lincoln, Cpt Joseph R. Manion, 1st Lt William R. Mowder, 2nd Lt Lawrence A. Nelson, † Sgt Lloyd D. Smith, S/Sgt Herbert Vonderkall.

Flight / Schedule

44-69803

Registration

44-69803

MSN

10635

Year of Manufacture

1944

Date

February 28, 1952 at 12:00 AM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Bombing

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Crash Location

Kaesong North Hwanghae (<U+D669><U+D574><U+BD81><U+B3C4>)

Region

Asia • North Korea

Crash Cause

Technical failure

Narrative Report

On February 28, 1952 at 12:00 AM, 44-69803 experienced a crash involving Boeing B-29 Superfortress, operated by United States Air Force - USAF, with the event recorded near Kaesong North Hwanghae (<U+D669><U+D574><U+BD81><U+B3C4>).

The flight was categorized as bombing and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

12 people were known to be on board, 5 fatalities were recorded, 7 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 41.7%.

Crew on board: 12, crew fatalities: 5, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. En route, the airplane suffered engine problems and one of them caught fire. Apparently, seven crew members were able to bail out and were later rescued while five others were killed when the heavy bomber crashed into the sea few km west of Kaesong. Crew: S/Sgt Thomas C. Baker, † Cpt Osborne T. Carlisle, † 1st Lt James W. Carney, A2C Willard M. Denn, † 1st Lt Carl G. Happ Jr., † Sgt James W. Hendricks, Sgt Theodore G. Lincoln, Cpt Joseph R. Manion, 1st Lt William R. Mowder, 2nd Lt Lawrence A. Nelson, † Sgt Lloyd D. Smith, S/Sgt Herbert Vonderkall.

Aircraft reference details include registration 44-69803, MSN 10635, year of manufacture 1944.

Fatalities

Total

5

Crew

5

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

En route, the airplane suffered engine problems and one of them caught fire. Apparently, seven crew members were able to bail out and were later rescued while five others were killed when the heavy bomber crashed into the sea few km west of Kaesong. Crew: S/Sgt Thomas C. Baker, † Cpt Osborne T. Carlisle, † 1st Lt James W. Carney, A2C Willard M. Denn, † 1st Lt Carl G. Happ Jr., † Sgt James W. Hendricks, Sgt Theodore G. Lincoln, Cpt Joseph R. Manion, 1st Lt William R. Mowder, 2nd Lt Lawrence A. Nelson, † Sgt Lloyd D. Smith, S/Sgt Herbert Vonderkall.

Cause: Technical failure

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

12

Passengers On Board

0

Estimated Survivors

7

Fatality Rate

41.7%

Known people on board: 12

Operational Details

Flight Type

Bombing

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Region / Country

Asia • North Korea

Aircraft Details

Registration

44-69803

MSN

10635

Year of Manufacture

1944

Similar Plane Crashes

February 18, 1943 at 12:26 PM34 Fatalities

Boeing Airplane Company

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The crew was performing a test flight on this second prototype. Ten minutes after departure from Seattle-Boeing Field, the crew informed ATC that engine number one caught fire and attempted to return. At an altitude of 2,400 feet, pilot feathered the propeller and notified ATC that the fire was spreading quickly. One minute later, as it was about to land, the bomber struck a power line and crashed on an industrial butchery. Extensive emergency resources were dispatched to the scene where rescuers did not find any survivors among the debris scattered over a wide area. The building was destroyed as well and 34 dead bodies were found: all 11 occupants on board the airplane and 23 people on ground. Thirty others people were injured as well. Crew: Eddie Allen, Chief test pilot by Boeing, Bob Dansfield, captain.

April 18, 1944 at 12:00 AM

United States Army Air Forces - USAAF

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Crash landed in Cairo-Payne AFB for unknown reason. No casualties.

April 21, 1944 at 12:00 AM

United States Army Air Forces - USAAF

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The crew was performing a ferry flight from the US to Karachi when he encountered dust storm over Pakistan and was forced to abandon the aircraft that crashed 20 miles southeast of Karachi. The aircraft was destroyed as all occupants were rescued.

June 17, 1944 at 12:00 AM

United States Army Air Forces - USAAF

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The crew was performing a ferry flight from the US to India when flying off the Liberian coast, the pilot was forced to ditch the aircraft due to a fuel exhaustion. The four engine aircraft came to rest off Greenville coast and was lost. All crew members were rescued.

February 12, 1945 at 12:00 AM12 Fatalities

United States Army Air Forces - USAAF

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Forty-five minutes after its departure from North Field AFB (Tinian Island), while cruising, the engine number four caught fire. The aircraft dove into the sea and exploded as it struck the water surface. Only few debris were found on site and all 12 crew members were killed. Crew (39th Squadron): Sgt Robert J. Beller, radio operator, Cpl Harold M. Brown, air gunner, 1st Lt Bernard A. Casaurang, pilot, Cpl Ralph R. Cima, radar officer, Cpl Flavio M. Duca, air gunner, Cpl Charles N. Gentry, 2nd Lt Edward A. Josephson, pilot, F/O Louis T. Kestner Jr., navigator, Cpl Joseph J. Kuebler, air gunner, Cpl Richard V. Leland, T/Sgt Fred B. Robbins, flight engineer, 2nd Lt Richard J. Scarisbrick, bombardier.

April 13, 1945 at 06:00 AM10 Fatalities

United States Army Air Forces - USAAF

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

On final approach to Agana-Harmon Field AFB, following a night flight started last evening from Andersen AFB, the pilot was instructed to go around due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain falls. The aircraft hit tree tops, the engine number one was damaged as well as left wingtip and flaps. The aircraft then stalled and crashed in a huge explosion short of runway. Ten crew members were killed and one was seriously injured. Crew: 1st Lt Dave R. Anderson, Cpl Nicholas G. Brando, M/Sgt Ray M. Cline, Sgt Clifton E. Coker, 1st Lt Charles E. Cooper, S/Sgt Arthur S. Johnson Jr., 2nd Lt Willard W. Larech, 2nd Lt George R. Longsdorf, Pfc Victor N. Wright, 1st Lt Robert R. Ziegele.