Manila – Darwin

On April 9, 1946 at 12:00 AM, Manila – Darwin experienced a crash involving Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 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.

10 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 8 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 20.0%.

Crew on board: 8, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. Enroute, both left engines (number one and two) failed. The captain lost control of the aircraft that crashed into the Celebes Sea but was able to report his exact position. On scene, the crew of 'HMS Opposum' was able to evacuate eight wounded people while two others were killed. Crew (23rd Squadron): W/Cdr J. Handbury, pilot, W/O F. Welsh, copilot, F/Lt P. Mathews, navigator, † W/O C. McKenzie, wireless operator, W/O W. Nesbitt, radar operator, W/O R. Smith, flight engineer, F/Sgt D. Norton, flight engineer, Cpl E. Pye, fitter. Passengers: Cpt J. McFadden, Lt J. Potten. †

Aircraft reference details include registration A72-378, MSN 861.