42-6471

On September 22, 1943 at 06:00 AM, 42-6471 experienced a crash involving Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3), operated by United States Army Air Forces - USAAF, with the event recorded near Calcutta West Bengal.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

20 people were known to be on board, 20 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 17, passenger fatalities: 17, other fatalities: 0.

After rotation from Calcutta-Dum Dum Airport, the aircraft encountered problem to gain height when it hit tree tops and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 1,200 meters past the runway end. All twenty occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were as follow: ceiling at 2,000 feet, horizontal visibility estimated at 11 km and light wind. Crew: 1st Lt Dale Johnson, 2nd Lt Jasper A. Lagattuta, 1st Lt Kermit R. Peasley.

Aircraft reference details include registration 42-6471, MSN 4923, year of manufacture 1942.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 22.5753°, 88.3600°.