Disappearance of USAAF Consolidated C-87 41-11708

The disappearance of USAAF Consolidated C-87 41-11708 occurred on 18 January 1943. All 26 occupants of the aircraft, which was operating an intercontinental USAAF military flight from Accra to Natal, were presumably killed. At the time it was the deadliest accident involving this aircraft type; since an accident of a C-87 in the Solomon Islands on 25 July 1944 it has been the second deadliest.

Accident sequence

The aircraft was on the flight to Natal, Brazil. According to some reports it had previously departed from Accra on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana); according to other reports, on the flight from Accra it had previously made an intermediate landing in Georgetown, British Guiana. During the night-time flight the aircraft was lost at around 23:00. After the disappearance of the aircraft a large-scale search began, which was only called off on 29 January 1943 after no traces of the aircraft or its occupants could be found. A few days later two life jackets were found on a beach in Brazil. US military authorities reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident had been unfavourable due to dense clouds and heavy rainfall. It was also reported that on 4 February 1943 lifeboats with bodies on board were found in the sea about 100 km east of Recife. From this it could be concluded that at least some passengers had been able to escape from the crashed aircraft. Forensic analyses showed that the last passenger had died of hunger, thirst and exhaustion on 3 February 1943, and thus two weeks after the accident. Since no wreckage was found, the accident investigators could not determine the cause of the accident.