 The aircraft involved, seen in Gothenburg in 1961 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 23, 1962 |
| Summary | Ditching following engine failure, pilot error |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean; 800km west off Shannon, Ireland |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation |
| Operator | Flying Tiger Line |
| Registration | N6923C |
| Flight origin | McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, United States |
| Stopover | Gander Airport, Newfoundland, Canada |
| Destination | Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany |
| Occupants | 76 |
| Passengers | 68 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 28 |
| Survivors | 48 |
Flying Tiger Line Flight 923 was a chartered military transport flight that ditched in the North Atlantic Ocean on September 23, 1962. The Lockheed Constellation L-1049H was transporting 68 military personal of the United States Army from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey to Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany. While flying over the North Atlantic on the Gander-Frankfurt leg, the number 3 engine fire warning sounded, and the engine was shut down. While trying to finish the engine shutdown checklist, the flight engineer accidentally turned off the oil flow to the number 1 engine, leaving the aircraft on only two engines. Approximately an hour later and after the L-1049H started to divert to Shannon, Ireland, the number 2 engine caught on fire and was forced to be at reduced thrust. The aircraft ditched in the North Atlantic Ocean, where 48 occupants survived for six hours on a life raft until the MS Celerina arrived at the scene.