C-46 crash near Myrtle Beach
U.S. Air Force Curtiss C-46 Commando · Loss of control due to failure of an aileron
From Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) to Nashville (Tennessee)
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
- 39 · all aircraft and ground
- 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
Curtiss C-46 Commando
- Aircraft type
- Curtiss C-46
- 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
- 44-77577
- Operator
- US Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 39
- Route
- From Myrtle Beach (South Carolina)To Nashville (Tennessee)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The C-46 crash near Myrtle Beach was an aviation accident involving a C-46D-10-CU Commando transport aircraft of the US Air Force that occurred on Sunday, 23 July 1950 near Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), in which 39 people were killed.
In terms of scale, it is the largest air disaster in South Carolina.
Crash
Training manoeuvres involving the Air National Guards of various states had previously been held at Myrtle Beach, and now the servicemen were returning home. Among them was a group of 30 members of the Tennessee Air National Guard who were heading to Nashville (Tennessee), and the aircraft was tail number 44-77577, whose crew consisted of four people.
However, just a few minutes after takeoff the aircraft fell to the ground 9 miles (14½ km) northwest of Myrtle Beach and was completely destroyed, after which a severe fire broke out at the site. All the people on board were killed.
In total, 39 bodies were recovered from the wreckage, meaning that there were actually 5 more people on board. Possibly these were servicemen who had boarded this aircraft to hitch a ride. Thus, officially 39 people were killed in the crash. It is the largest aviation disaster in the history of the state of South Carolina.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Parts of the wing were found a quarter of a mile (about ½ km) from where the fuselage fell, which immediately gave rise to the theory of an explosion on board. However, a more thorough examination established that soon after departure the left aileron failed in its central part, after which it separated. Having climbed to 1000—2000 feet (300—600 m), tail number 44-77577 went out of the crew's control, and the extreme g-loads that then arose led to the separation of both wings. Unable to continue flying, the C-46 plunged down.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Russian Wikipedia article “Катастрофа C-46 под Мертл-Бич” (revision 150407050, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article
Sources
Russian Wikipedia article: Катастрофа C-46 под Мертл-Бич
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 150407050 · 2025-12-02 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q25381907
- 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
- ru Wikipedia article "Катастрофа C-46 под Мертл-Бич" (page 6166596, revision 150407050), translated into English with AI assistance
- 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 Russian Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.