FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

Leon Crane

21 Dec 1943 · Charley River, Alaska

United States Army Air Corps B-24D Liberator · Engine failure

From Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) to an unrecorded destination

Show on map Read the Wikipedia article
Report a problem

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
Accident
Event fatalities
4 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
5
Survivors
1
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

B-24D Liberator

Aircraft type
B 24D LIBERATOR
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
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
4
Route
From Ladd Army Airfield (FBK)To not recorded

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

Leon Crane (August 5, 1919 – March 26, 2002), a native of Philadelphia, was an American Army Air Corps lieutenant who was stationed at Ladd Field in Alaska during World War II. During a routine test flight on December 21, 1943, the B-24 Liberator Crane was copiloting experienced engine failure, causing the plane to crash into a mountaintop overlooking the Charley River. Of the crew of five, Crane was the only survivor, having managed to bail out in time. Crane then was able to survive for 84 days in the Alaskan wilderness with only some matches, a Boy Scout knife and his parachute, before reaching a nearby mining camp.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Leon Crane” (revision 1344196620, 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: Leon Crane
Article
Leon Crane
Revision
1344196620 · 2026-03-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q117030081
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 "Leon Crane" (page 73243176, revision 1344196620)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
Wikipedia article 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.