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1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash

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1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash
Accident
A C-124A similar to the accident aircraft
Date	December 20, 1952 (1952-12-20)
Summary	Loss of control due to inadvertent gust lock engagement
Site	Near Larson Air Force Base, Moses Lake, Grant County, Washington, United States 47°12′24.41″N 119°19′25.47″W / 47.2067806°N 119.3237417°W / 47.2067806; -119.3237417
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas C-124A-DL Globemaster II
Operator	United States Air Force
Registration	50-0100
Flight origin	Larson Air Force Base, Moses Lake, Washington
Destination	Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Occupants	115
Passengers	105
Crew	10
Fatalities	87
Survivors	28

The 1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash was an accident in which a United States Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster II military transport aircraft crashed near Moses Lake, Washington on December 20, 1952. Of the 115 people on board, 87 died and 28 survived. The crash was the world's deadliest aviation disaster at the time, surpassing the Llandow air disaster, which killed 80 people. The death toll would not be surpassed until the Tachikawa air disaster, which also involved a Douglas C-124A-DL Globemaster II, killed 129 people.

Accident[edit]

The flight was part of "Operation: Sleigh Ride", a USAF airlift program to bring U.S. servicemen fighting in the Korean War home for Christmas. At around 18:30 PST, the C-124 lifted off from Larson Air Force Base near Moses Lake, Washington en route to Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Just seconds after taking off, the left wing struck the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled, broke up, and exploded, killing 82 of the 105 passengers and 5 of the 10 crew members. Investigation into the accident revealed that the aircraft's elevator and rudder gust locks had not been disengaged prior to departure.^[1]^[2]

At the time it occurred, the Moses Lake crash was the deadliest accident in U.S. territory until a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA L-1049 Super Constellation collided over the Grand Canyon in 1956, killing 128. The crash also remains the deadliest aviation accident to occur in Washington state.

References[edit]

^ "Aviation Safety Network".

^ "Washington State C-124 Crash Remembered". Archived from the original on 2017-03-13.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1950s
1950	Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash
1951	National Airlines Flight 83 Cubana de Aviación Flight 493 United Air Lines Flight 610 United Air Lines Flight 615 Miami Airlines C-46 Continental Charters Flight 44-2
1952	American Airlines Flight 6780 National Airlines Flight 101 Pan Am Flight 526A American Airlines Flight 910 Mount Gannett C-124 crash Moses Lake C-124 crash
1953	National Airlines Flight 470 Delta Air Lines Flight 318 USMC R4Q NROTC crash American Airlines Flight 723 BCPA Flight 304
1955	Cincinnati mid-air collision TWA Flight 260 American Airlines Flight 711 Hawaii R6D-1 crash Pan Am Flight 845/26 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash American Airlines Flight 476 United Air Lines Flight 409 United Air Lines Flight 629
1956	TWA Flight 400 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 Grand Canyon mid-air collision Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304
1957	Pacoima mid-air collision Northeast Airlines Flight 823 Northeast Airlines Flight 285
1958	Capital Airlines Flight 67 Capital Airlines Flight 300 Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash Northeast Airlines Flight 258
1959	Southeast Airlines Flight 308 American Airlines Flight 320 The Day the Music Died Pan Am Flight 115 Capital Airlines Flight 75 American Airlines Flight 514 Braniff International Airways Flight 542 Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 National Airlines Flight 967 Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 San Diego F3H crash
This list is incomplete.