# Transocean Air Lines Flight 942

Transocean Air Lines Flight 942 was a military charter flight operated by Transocean Air Lines. On 6:36 p.m. on March 20, 1953, the flight, a Douglas DC-4, crashed in a barley field on Oakland, California, killing all 35 people on board.

## Background

The flight was proposed to transfer military personnel following the company's contract with the United States Department of Defense, specifically the 509th Bombardment Wing, from the Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico. Since multiple aircraft used to fly the personnel were gone, the army charted the plane to transport them. Before the flight, thousands of military personnel and tons of supplies were carried by Transocean planes. Before departure, a Defense Visual Flight Rules plan was approved with the Air Route Traffic Control, suggesting a 500 feet (150 metres) altitude by Red Airway 88 to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Green Airway 4 to Palmdale, California, Blue Airway 14 and Amber Airway 1 to Bakersfield, California, and Blue Airway 10 to Oakland, California.$^{:1}$

### Aircraft

The aircraft was a Douglas DC-4 aircraft, with the serial number 36076 and the tail number N88942.$^{:1}$ It had a total of 5976 total airframe hours. The accident was the 38th worst accident of this aircraft type, and the 23rd worst accident of the type at the time. The flight contained 30 passengers and a crew consisting of five people for a total of 35 occupants. The crew consisted of Chief Pilot Harvey W. Rodgers, First Officer F.W. Patchett, Captain H.E. Hum, and stewardesses V. Sandridge and L. Chapman.$^{:1}$ The chief pilot had a total amount of 8,312 flight hours, of which 5,570 were on the DC-4, while the co-pilot had a total of 10,656 flight hours, of which 7,379 were on the DC-4.

## Flight

At 12:11 p.m. on March 20, 1953, the flight departed from Roswell, New Mexico, to Oakland, California. The trip was expected to take six hours and 35 minutes, with sufficient fuel for 10 hours. The weight at the time of takeoff was 63,817 pounds (28,947 kilograms), with an allowable gross weight of 73,000 lb (33,000 kg). After takeoff, the flight was normal. At 2:51 p.m. within Winslow, Arizona, the plane changed to Instrumental Flight Rules, albeit at the same height. At 5:32 p.m. the flight reported that it was within the vicinity of Fresno, California, with a height of 8,000 feet (2,400 m). At 5.44 p.m. still over Fresno, the flight reported to the communications center that it was at an altitude of 7,000 ft (2,100 m). Three minutes later, after passing Evergreen, the flight gained clearance to transfer to the Oakland Approach Control. Over the next hour, the flight was told to maintain its altitude and then lower it. From 6:21 p.m. to 6:36 p.m., the flight lowered its altitude to 1,000 ft (300 m). After the flight connected to Newark, it disappeared from radar.$^{:1}$

### Accident

   I saw men with their clothes on fire—some on the ground—some trying to get. up, staggering, falling back into the flames.
Two minutes later, at 6:38 p.m., the aircraft was found to have crashed into a barley field.$^{:2}$ The cause was loss of control. The investigation showed that it had crashed on its right wingtip first, with a vertically inclined position. The aircraft flipped over multiple times and disintegrated. Debris was scattered over an 800 ft (240 m) long area and a 300 ft (91 m) wide area. The impact force caused the aircraft to break into pieces. A part of the left wing was found 634 ft (193 m) from the accident.$^{:2}$ The right aileron was broken into five parts by impact. No pounding was suspected when hinges moved freely.$^{:3}$ After the accident, rescue services went to the crash site. The services could see the plane burning, with the fuselage still intact. They sent victims to a nearby hospital, but poor roads in the area hampered efforts. Ambulances came from four East Bay hospitals. All 35 people on board died.

## Aftermath and investigation

Newspapers around the country shared information about the accident. In New Mexico, funeral services were held for the fatalities. Since the men were not killed in battle, they were not included in Korean War casualty lists. The accident caused lawsuits, with one lawsuit rejected. Another lawsuit ended with the implementation of "conflict-of-laws" principles if someone has a thought to sue. Transocean Air Lines went bankrupt in 1962.
Parts were examined by the Civil Aeronautics Board, with structural components sorted into a manner. After careful consideration, no means of failure was spotted.$^{:2}$