Tarakan – Pitu

On September 19, 1945 at 10:18 AM, Tarakan – Pitu experienced a crash involving Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3), operated by Royal Australian Air Force - RAAF, with the event recorded near Celebes Sea All World.

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

23 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 23 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 20, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

Enroute, the aircraft started to lose height for no apparent reason as controls showed no response. It trimmed and climbed, then stalled, went into spin and flattened out at 3,000 feet above mean sea level. The pilot was able to regain control and then decided to ditch the aircraft off Labuan. While the aircraft sank, all 23 occupants were unhurt and took refuge in life rafts. They were rescued about 15 hours later some 150 miles east of Tarakan. Crew (345th Squadron): F/O A. Burns 2. Source: http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/

Aircraft reference details include registration A65-6, MSN 9287, year of manufacture 1943.