Frobisher Bay, NWT
Photographs

Accident Description

Date: 27 April 1955
Type: Douglas C-124C Globemaster II
Operator: United States Air Force - USAF
Registration: 52-0991
Fatalities - None
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: Frobisher Bay (Canada)
Phase: Final Approach
Nature: Military
Departure airport: Unknown
Destination airport: Frobisher Bay
Remarks: Landed short of the runway and broke up.

Comments by Ronald G McGill: - I recently found your web site pertaining to Frobisher Bay. When I came across the pictures of the C-124 crash I couldn't beleive it. I was in Frobisher Bay with the 2nd Aerial Port Squadron out of Smyrna Tennessee on the day of this accident. I was in the barracks or huts we were staying in, because we had flown earlier in the day. If my memory is correct the accident occurred in the afternoon and we could hear the plane making the approach when all of a sudden there was a huge explosion and the whole place shook. For those that were there, they should remember how either the #1 or the #4 engine keep running at the approach setting and wasn't shut off until another crew came in the next day and a crew member climbed into the wing and shut off the fuel line. These pictures had to be taken some time after the crash, as it shows the engines having been taken off. The aircraft was carring three tracked Snow Cats as part of its cargo. Looking back, the thing I regret the most is, I had cameras but never took them with me that often. - Ronald G McGill South Windsor Conn.

Comments by Ray White: - I am taking the liberty of sending these photos of the crash scene of the C-124 that occurred in Frobisher in April 1955. I was stationed at the Canadian Navy Radio Station in Frobisher and saw the crash as it occurred. I was coming off watch from the Navy's HFDF site at the north end of the runway and was walking along the runway toward the base where the combined RCAF/RCN barracks were located. About halfway along the runway I could see a large aircraft in the distance, over the water of the Bay. It was banking to starboard and then straightened out and I could see the landing lights. As it approached the lip of the runway, the aircraft dipped below the level of the runway, then I could see it rising to get to the correct level. It almost made it but the landing gear caught on the very end of the runway and the plane did a cartwheel which tore off the starboard wing. As you can see from the photos the nose did not touch the runway, but the entire plane flipped over, broke up into many pieces and caught fire. I ran toward it but as I had the better part of a mile to go, the emergency vehicles were already there and in action as I approached the scene. The few spectators around were not permitted close to the aircraft. As seen in the photos, the outboard port engine continued to function for a day or so before the decision was made to shut off the fuel supply. Although the comments on your web page indicate that the cargo was "tracked Snow Cats" one can see that they were in fact Bombardier Snowmobiles. (Perhaps Snow Cat is the US term for them?) I took these shots the day after the accident. I told our Chief that I had seen the entire event from start to finish and he reported this to the board of enquiry but they did not call me as a witness. This was certainly a unique experience for me. Although your notes indicate that there were no fatalities, there were several serious injuries who were flown to Goose Bay the following morning in a USAF SA-16 aircraft.