Editing Douglas C-54 Skymaster (section)

==Accidents and incidents==
{{Main|List of accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-4}}

===Experimental "tank drop" (1943)===
On 9 July 1943, USAAF C-54A 41-37271 crashed in a mid-air collision with a C-40A at [[Wright Field]], Ohio. While para-dropping a [[M29 Weasel|Studebaker T-24 Weasel]] which was slung under the fuselage, the C-54 collided with the C-40A photographic chase plane. Three of the five crew of the C-54A and all five aboard the C-40A were killed.<ref>{{cite document |title=Report of Aircraft Accident 44-7-9-25 |publisher=US Army Air Forces |date=22 July 1943}}</ref> 

[[File:C-54 destroyed by North Korean fighters 1950.jpg|thumb|A USAF C-54 destroyed by North Korean fighters, 1950]]

===Crashing in the sea (1947)===
On 3 July 1947, US Army Air Forces C-54G ''45-519'' crashed in the Atlantic 294 miles off Florida after a loss of control caused by turbulence from a storm, killing the six crew.<ref>{{ASN accident|title= 45-519|id= 19470703-0|accessdate= 7 November 2013}}</ref>

===Massachusetts crash (1948)===
[[File:Northampton C-54 Monument Plaque.jpg|thumb|Monument dedicated to the victims of the 1948 crash]]
On 14 May 1948, an army transport plane flying through a rainstorm crashed in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], killing the three crew members aboard.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=ARMY PLANE FALLS; 3 DIE; Jackson Heights Man Is Among Massachusetts Crash Victims|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/14/archives/army-plane-falls-3-die-jackson-heights-man-is-among-massachusetts.html |work=The New York Times |date=1948-05-14 |access-date=2020-09-07}}</ref>

===Disappearance (1950)===
{{Main|1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance}}

On 26 January 1950, a C-54D operated by the [[United States Air Force]] [[List of missing aircraft|disappeared during a flight]] between [[Elmendorf Air Force Base|Anchorage-Elmendorf Air Force Base]] ([[Alaska]]) and [[Malmstrom Air Force Base|Great Falls Air Force Base]] ([[Montana]]) with a crew of eight and 36 passengers (34 service personnel and two civilians).<ref name=ASN>Ranter, Harro and Fabian I. Lujan. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500126-0 'Douglas C-54D-1-DC 42-72469 Snag, YT"]. Aviation Safety Net, 2008. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref><ref name=Kennebec>Kennebec, Matt. [http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/10054.htm "Douglas DC-4 C-54D."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926125738/http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/10054.htm |date=2011-09-26 }} ''1000 Photos'', 2010. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref> No trace of the aircraft or its occupants has ever been found.

===Attack===
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. North Korean fighter aircraft attacked airfields at Kimpo and Seoul, the South Korean capital, destroying one USAF C-54 on the ground at [[Gimpo International Airport|Kimpo Air Base]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1000korea/ | title=Air War Korea, 1950-53 }}</ref>

===Crashed (1950)===
On 19 September 1950, a U.S. Navy C-54 en route to Korea crashed into the sea approximately one minute after takeoff from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. The aircraft had 26 personnel aboard including eleven nurses. There were no survivors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.koreanwar-educator.org/topics/airplane_crashes/c54_skymaster_kwajalein_19500919/p_c54_skymaster.htm#:~:text=C%2D54%20Skymaster%20Crash%2C%20September%2019%2C%201950&text=According%20to%20KWE%20member%20Art,26%20Naval%20personnel%20on%20board.|title = Korean War Educator: Topics{{dash}}Airplane Crashes{{dash}}C-54 Skymaster Kwajalein September 19, 1950}}</ref>

===Crashing in the sea (1951)===
On 31 January 1951, the C-54D with tail number 282 of the [[Portuguese Air Force|Portuguese Military Aeronautics]], operated by the Search and Rescue Squadron of the [[Lajes Air Base]], [[Azores]], flying from the [[Lisbon Airport]] back to its base, crashed in the [[Atlantic]], when approaching Lajes. All of the 14 people on board (two pilots, nine mechanics and three other military personnel) were killed.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19510131-2 Douglas C-54D-1-DC (DC-4) 282] Aviation Safety Net, 2008. Retrieved: 22 March 2017.</ref>

===Berlin corridor attack (1952)===
On 29 April 1952, an [[Air France]] Douglas C-54A (registration F-BELI) operating a scheduled service from [[Frankfurt International Airport|Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport]] to [[Berlin Tempelhof Airport]] came under sustained attack from two Soviet [[MiG-15]] [[fighter aircraft|fighters]] while passing through one of the Allied air corridors over [[East Germany]]. Although the attack had severely damaged the aircraft, necessitating the shutdown of engines number three and four, the pilot in command of the aircraft managed to carry out a safe [[emergency landing]] at Tempelhof Airport. A subsequent inspection of the aircraft's damage revealed that it had been hit by 89 shots fired from the Soviet MiGs. There were no fatalities among the 17 occupants (six crew, 11 passengers) despite the severity of the attack. The Soviet military authorities defended this attack on an unarmed civilian aircraft by claiming the Air France plane was outside the air corridor at the time of attack.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520429-0 ASN "Aircraft accident description Douglas C-54A-DO F-BELI – near Berlin, Germany."] ''Aviation Safety Net''. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref>

===Shoot-down by the PRC (1954)===
{{Main|1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown}}
On 23 July 1954, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster civilian airliner, [[Cathay Pacific VR-HEU|registration VR-HEU]], operated by [[Cathay Pacific|Cathay Pacific Airways]], en route from [[Bangkok]] to [[Hong Kong]], was shot and heavily damaged by Chinese [[People's Liberation Army Air Force|PLAAF]] [[Lavochkin La-11]] fighters off the coast of [[Hainan Island]]. The pilot was able to ditch the aircraft, and whilst ten people on board were killed as a result of the attack, another nine were rescued by a USAF [[Grumman HU-16 Albatross]] Air-Sea Rescue plane.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540723-0 "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-54A-10-DC VR-HEU Hainan Island."] ''Aviation Safety Network''. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1954/1954-35.htm "Accident details – VR-HEU."] ''Plane Crash Info''. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref><ref name="val">[http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/230754.htm "VR-HEU Account by passenger: Valerie Parish."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127031330/http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/230754.htm |date=2009-01-27 }} ''Major Commercial Airline Disasters.'' Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref><ref name="helianthus">[http://www.helianthus-productions.com/VRHEU.html "VR-HEU."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820003641/http://www.helianthus-productions.com/VRHEU.html |date=20 August 2008 }} ''The Life & Times of James Harper.'' Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref>

===Crashed in Nevada, United States (1955)===

On 17 November 1955, United States Air Force C-54 Flight 9068 crashed into the south eastern flank of 11,916 foot Mount Charleston at approximately the 11,300 foot elevation. The crash occurred at roughly 8:30am during a high wind snowstorm with limited visibility approximately 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The airplane was en route to a classified destination referred to as "Watertown" (now known as the Area 51 test site in Nevada) from Burbank, California. There were 14 passengers and air crew on board from the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, and several government contractors who were working on the top secret U-2 spy plane project. There were no survivors and the crash investigation remained classified until 1998.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plaskon |first=Kyril D. |title=Silent Heroes of the Cold War{{dash}}Declassified |publisher=Silent Heroes of the Cold War Memorial Committee |year=2015 |isbn=978-1507884669 |edition=2nd |location=Las Vegas, Nevada |pages=10–30 |language=English}}</ref>

===Explosion in North Africa (1955)===
On 11 December 1955, the C-54 of the United States Air Force's [[1700th Air Transport Group]], based at [[Kelly Field]], San Antonio, Tex. The transport crashed in the Gomor district near the border, between French and Spanish Morocco. Flying from [[Wheelus Field]] in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] to [[Casablanca]], it was believed en route to the United States. Eight United States airmen died when their plane exploded in the rugged Riff Mountains of [[North Africa]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1955-12-14 |title=Bulter Airman Dies in Crash |pages=26 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120355572/bulter-airman-dies-in-crash/ |access-date=2023-03-07}}</ref>

===Disappearance (1964)===
On 28 March 1964, a C-54A disappeared over the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] (about 1120&nbsp;km west of [[San Francisco]]—last reported position: {{Coord|29.33|N|135.00|W}}) on an executive passenger flight from [[Honolulu International Airport]], [[Hawaii]] to [[Los Angeles International Airport]], [[California]]. The pilot reported a fire in No. 2 engine, which might make it necessary to ditch. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft, nor was any trace of it found despite an extensive search. Three crew and six passengers died in the accident.<ref name=HighandMighty>Ranter, Harro and Fabian I. Lujan. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19640328-0 "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-54A-10-DC N4726V San Francisco, CA."] ''Aviation Safety Network'', 2011. Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref>