Thule – Søndre Strømfjord

On May 3, 1964 at 12:00 AM, Thule – Søndre Strømfjord experienced a crash involving Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, operated by Royal Danish Air Force - Flyvevåbnet, with the event recorded near Upernavik Qaasuitsup Kommunia.

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

14 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 14 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 5, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The Catalina operated on a trip from Air Station Værløse via Keflavik, Reykjavik, Mestersvig, Station North, Thule, Sonderstrom and back to Værløse. The flyinbg boat departed Værløse, Denmark on 20 April 1964. On 3 May 1964, en route from Thule to Sonderstrom, the airplane suffered an no. 1 engine failure. Due to the Catalina’s single engine performance, the captain decided to make a precautionary landing when they discovered open water about 10 km south west from Upernavik. The crew was later rescued by a USAF SA-16 and brought to Sonderstrom. Two days later the Catalina was damaged beyond repair by the ice which had crushed the it.

Aircraft reference details include registration L-867.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 72.7847°, -56.1470°.