FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

Chinese Air Force Flight 222

17 Mar 1946 · Nanjing, Republic of China

Republic of China Air Force C-47 Skytrain · Controlled flight into terrain (mountain)

From Beiping to Shanghai

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
Unknown
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
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

C-47 Skytrain

Aircraft type
C 47 SKYTRAIN
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
Unknown
Route
From BeipingTo Shanghai

Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.

From the Wikipedia article

Chinese Air Force Flight 222 was an aviation accident that occurred on 17 March 1946, when a Republic of China Air Force C-47 crashed into Mount Dai near Nanjing, killing all 20 people on board, including intelligence chief Dai Li.

Speculation has surrounded the cause of the crash, including theories that it was arranged either by Chinese Communist Party intelligence chief Kang Sheng of the Central Social Affairs Department or by the American Office of Strategic Services.

Accident

On 17 March 1946, the aircraft departed from Beiping, with a scheduled stopover in Tianjin and a final stop at Qingdao Cangkou Airport, en route to Shanghai. After departing Qingdao, the aircraft approached the Nanjing area. During the flight, it crashed into Mount Dai near Nanjing in what is believed to have been a controlled flight into terrain accident. According to contemporary records and an eyewitness, the aircraft clipped trees before slamming into a ridge.

Weather conditions and navigational factors are believed to have contributed to the crash. All passengers and crew on board were killed in the crash.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Chinese Air Force Flight 222” (revision 1346686269, 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: Chinese Air Force Flight 222
Article
Chinese Air Force Flight 222
Revision
1346686269 · 2026-04-02 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q133826994
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 "Chinese Air Force Flight 222" (page 82760497, revision 1346686269)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
none
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
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
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.