McChord – Elmendorf

On November 22, 1952 at 08:15 PM, McChord – Elmendorf experienced a crash involving Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, operated by United States Air Force - USAF, with the event recorded near Mt Gannett Alaska.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

52 people were known to be on board, 52 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 11, crew fatalities: 11, passengers on board: 41, passenger fatalities: 41, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. The four engine aircraft was completing a flight from McChord AFB to Elmendorf AFB, carrying 41 passengers and a crew of 11. En route, the crew was informed about strong winds gusting up to 40 knots from the west. While cruising by night and marginal weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Gannett (9'650 feet high) located about 53 miles east of Elmendorf. As the airplane failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted but due to poor weather conditions, first rescuers arrived on scene six days later only, on November 28. The wreckage was found on the Surprise Glacier, about 1,000 feet below the summit. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 52 occupants were killed. On June 9, 2012, some debris were found and on June 28, 2012, the wreckage was spotted again. Two years later, on June 18, 2014, the remains of 17 of the victims were identified and returned to their respectives families for burial.

Aircraft reference details include registration 51-0107, MSN 43441, year of manufacture 1951.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 61.2424°, -148.1972°.