Transocean Air Lines Flight 942. Transocean Air Lines Flight 942 was a military 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  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.

Aircraft 
The aircraft was a Douglas DC-4 aircraft, with the serial number 36076 and the tail number N88942. 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, with a crew consisting of five people, with a total of 35 people. 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. The chief pilot had a total amount of 8,312 flight hours, 5,570 from the same type. While the co-pilot had a total of 10,656 flight hours, 7,379 from the same type.

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 , with an allowable gross weight of . 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 . At 5.44 p.m. still over Fresno, the flight reported to the communications center that it was at an altitude of . 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 . After the flight connected to Newark, it disappeared.

Accident 

Two minutes later, at 6:38 p.m., the aircraft was found to crash at a barley field. The cause was loss of control. The investigation showed that it crashed on its right-wing tip first, with a vertically inclined position. The aircraft did multiple cartwheels, before disintegrating. Debris was scattered over an  long area and a  wide area. Impact force caused the aircraft to break into pieces. A part of the left wing appeared  from the accident. The right aileron was broken into five parts by impact. No pounding was suspected when hinges moved freely. After the accident, rescue services went to the plane. 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. Originally, no survivors were found, until two survivors were stored at the same hospital. They both had cases of shock.

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 weren't killed in battle, they weren't included in Korean War casualty lists. The accident caused lawsuits, with one lawsuit rejected. Another lawsuit ended with the implementation "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. The board committee arranged a 40-minute meeting, though they could not solve the problem.

See also 

 United Air Lines Flight 615 - a similar flight which crashed at the same place two years prior

References 

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1953
Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-4