Burbank – Oakland

On March 25, 1933 at 08:00 PM, Burbank – Oakland experienced a crash involving Lockheed 9 Orion, operated by Varney Speed Lines - VSL, with the event recorded near Hayward California.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a city crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 14 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 466.7%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 2, other fatalities: 11.

The listed crash cause is weather. On final approach to Oakland Airport, at night and in heavy rain falls, the pilot failed to realize he was flying too low. The landing gear hit the roof of a house and the aircraft crashed in the district of Hayward, less than 5 km from the runway threshold. Few houses were destroyed and among the debris, rescue teams did not find any survivors. All three occupants were killed as well as 11 people on the ground including children. It seems that the pilot was unable to establish a visual contact with the ground due to sudden change in weather conditions.

Aircraft reference details include registration NC12226, MSN 184, year of manufacture 1931.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 37.6688°, -122.0808°.