1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance
United States Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster · Disappearance
From Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Incident
- Event fatalities
- 44 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 44
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
- Aircraft type
- Douglas C-54
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 42-72469
- Operator
- United States Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 44
- Route
- From Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF)To Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA)
Approximate · Estimated position: Snag, Yukon, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
On 26 January 1950, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster serial number 42-72469 disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana, with 44 people aboard. The aircraft made its last radio contact two hours into its eight-hour flight. Despite one of the largest rescue efforts carried out by a joint effort between Canadian and US military forces, as of 2026, no trace of the aircraft has been found.
Flight
The aircraft was part of the First Strategic Support Squadron, Strategic Air Command, out of Biggs AFB, Texas. In addition to its eight-man crew, it was carrying 36 passengers, including two civilians: a woman and her infant son. An earlier attempt to depart had been made, but due to trouble with one of its four engines, it was delayed several hours. The flight was from Anchorage, Alaska, to Great Falls, Montana. Two hours after its eventual departure, the flight marked its first scheduled check-in over Snag, Yukon, where the pilot reported that the plane was on schedule with no issues to report except for ice on the wings. However, the flight never checked in with its second destination, Aishihik, Yukon, and was never heard from again.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance” (revision 1364268375, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance
- Revision
- 1364268375 · 2026-07-15 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4566826
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance" (page 32144478, revision 1364268375)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.