Total Persons on Board:
9 - Three crewmen, and 6 passengers.
|
Flight Crew |
|
Capt. Harry Baker, 59, of Fallen, Nevada, a veteran of 23,000
flying hours, |
Jerry McGovern, about 40, of
Muskegon, Mich., co-pilot |
R. W. Storey, about 40, in
Concord, Calif., navigitor |
|
Passengers |
|
Jerry Cope, 41, of Hermosa Beach, CA |
Irene Cope, about 38, of Hermosa Beach |
Christopher Cope, 7, of Hermosa Beach |
|
Sharon Cope, 6, of Hermosa Beach |
George W. Printz, about 44, a radio
technician from Walnut Creek, CA |
Robert A. Cabral,
about 25, of San Francisco |
When:
March 28, 1964
Weather:
Clear
Flight Route:
Enroute from
Honolulu, Hawaii, to Los Angeles, California
Area Believed Crashed:
The missing plane was last reported to be about
700 miles west of San Francisco (at
N29-20 135W)
Reason for flight:
Chartered transportation
Type Plane:
An ex-military Douglas C-54A, powered by four Pratt &
Whitney R-2000 engines, and owned by the Facilities Management
Corporation of Los Angeles.
Search efforts:
At 5:54 in the morning, Pacific Standard Time, and eight hours
into the anticipated 11 hour, 40 minute flight, a "Mayday" call from
the pilot was heard reporting the aircraft's position, and that the
plane had a serious fire in engine #2. He further said that "...we
may have to put it in."
The United States Coast Guard conducted a five-day search for the
missing DC-4, and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge, its
aircraft, and three other surface vessels searched a 100-mile wide
corridor of ocean, but no traces of either the aircraft or its
occupants were ever found.
Coast Guard Lt. Robert Finan said search vessels and planes had
picked up the mysterious signals race shortly after the plane went
down.
"Everyone we've got out
there looking has heard the signals," said Finan. "But they're too
weak for us to get bearings from. We think there's an
excellent chance the signal is coming from the emergency type
transmitter the plane had aboard."
Controversy:
Later investigation revealed engine #2 had a recurring oil leak in its
propeller governor assembly on an earlier flight that had resulted in the
airliner being temporarily grounded. The cause of the in flight fire remained
undetermined.
|
