| Date/Time |
Person |
Location |
Aircraft |
Details |
Notes |
| Mar 28, 1950 |
Laurence Steinhart
57, U.S. ambassador |
Ramsayville, Ontario, Canada |
Douglas C-47 |
Crashed in flames in a snow covered field. Enigne failure. 5 killed. One crew member parachuted to safetly. |
|
| Aug 26, 1951 |
Bill Barilko
24, Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player |
Near Cochrane, Ontario, Canada |
Fairchild 24 |
Crashed while returning from a fishing trip at James Bay with friend Henry Hudson. Wreckage found 11 years later on June 6, 1962. 2 killed |
|
| Jan 22, 1952 |
Robert Porter Patterson
60, Secretary of War under President Roosevelt |
Elizabeth, New Jersey |
American Airlines
Flight 6780
Convair 240-0
N94229
cn:054 |
Crashed into an apartment building during the approach. Official cause unknown. Possibly carburetor icing. All 23 aboard killed including 7 on the ground. |
details in
database |
Mar 18, 1953
04:10
|
Richard E. Ellsworth
42, Brigadier General who Ellsworth Air Force Base is named after |
Trinity Bay, Newfoundland |
Convair RB-36H Peacemaker
|
Flew into a hill while on a training mission from Lajes, Azores to Rapid City, South Dakota, All 23 aboard killed. |
|
Sep 1, 1953
|
Jacques Thibaud
72, French Violinist |
Near Barcelonette, France |
Air France.
Lockheed 749C Constellation
F-BAZZ cn: 2674 |
Flew into Mt. Cemet in the French Alps. All 42 aboard killed. |
details in
database |
Oct 29, 1953
|
William Kapell
31, American pianist |
Near Half Moon Bay, California |
British Com.
Flight 304
Pacific AL
Douglas DC-6
VH-BPE cn:43125 |
Crashed while on approach to SF airport. Pilot error. Crew failed to follow prescribed procedures for a instrument approach. All 19 aboard killed. |
details in
database |
| Nov 30, 1953 |
Kimber "Kim" Sigler
59, Former Governor of Michigan |
Battle Creek, Michigan |
Beechcraft Bonanza |
Crashed into a TV broadcast tower in fog while piloting his plane. All 4 aboard killed. |
|
Jan 10, 1954
09:30 |
Reginald "Chester" Wilmot
42, Australian broadcaster, correspondent |
Elba, Italy |
de Havilland DH106 Comet
G-AlYP
cn:06003 |
Broke up in midair due to a design flaw. All 35 people aboard killed. |
|
Jan 10, 1954
18:00 |
Thomas E. Braniff
71, Co-founder of Braniff Airways |
Shreveport, Louisiana |
Grummand amphibian |
While on a hunting trip his plane crashed into a house on the shore of Lake Wallace shortly after taking off. Icing. All 12 aboard killed. |
|
| Jun 30, 1954 |
R.W. Blackwood
32
Bill Lyles
33, gospel singers in the Blackwood Brothers Quartet |
Clanton, Alabama |
Beech 18 |
During a practice landing the plane aborted the landing, stalled and dove into the ground. Blackwood who was piloting the plane forgot to re-trim the tabs from landing to takeoff. All 3 aboard killed. |
|
| Jul 1, 1954 |
John McBride
Alabama halfback
|
Kelly Air Force Base, Texas |
Army trainer |
Killed in an ROTC training flight. 2 killed. |
|
| Oct 30, 1954 |
Wilbur Shaw
52, president Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
Decatur, Indiana |
Cessna |
Crashed into a corn field and broke into pieces. All 3 aboard killed. |
|
| Jul 31, 1955 |
Robert Francis
25, Actor |
Burbank, California |
Beechcraft Bonanza |
The plane landed and then took off. The engine sputtered and the plane stalled and spun into the ground, bursting into flames. All 3 aboard killed. Appeared in the Caine Mutiny. |
|
Sep 20, 1956
18:21 |
Thomas Gastall
23, baseball player, Baltimore Orioles catcher |
Riviera Beach, Maryland |
Aerocoupe |
The last message received from the plane was Gastall was trying to make an emergency crash landing into Chesapeake Bay. His body was found 5 days later. 1 killed. |
|
Nov 24, 1956
|
Guido Cantelli
36, orchestra and opera conductor |
Paris, France |
Linee Aeree Italiane
Douglas DC-6B
I-LEAD cn:45075 |
Crashed during takeoff. Cause undetermined. 34 of 35 aboard killed. |
details in
database |
| Nov 27, 1956 |
Charlie Peete
27, baseball player, St. Louis Cardinal outfielder |
Cevilla, Venezuela |
Linea Aeropostal Venezolana
Lockheed
Constellation
Fight 253
YV-C-AMA |
Crashed into a 6,700 ft. mountain while on approach. Peete was on his way to play winter ball in Venezuela. All 25 aboard killed. |
|
Dec 9, 1956
19:15 |
Gordon Sturtridge, Mel Becket, Ray Syrnyk, Mario DeMarco, Calvin Jones
Canadian football players |
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada |
Trans Canada Air Lines
Canadair DC-4M-2 Northstar
Flight 810-9
CF-TFD
cn: 128
|
The plane crashed into Mount Slesse after an engine caught fire and the plane experienced severe icing and turbulence. Five members of the Canadian Football League, returning from an all star game, were killed. Wreckage not found until May 10, 1957. |
|
Jan 31, 1957
11:18 |
Archie Twitchell
50, test pilot / actor |
Sunland, California |
Douglas Aircraft
N8210H
cn: 45192
Doublas DC-7B |
Twitchell, a test pilot for Douglas Aircraft, was killed when the plane he was copiloting crashed and burned on it's first test flight after a midair collision with a U.S. Air Force jet fighter. Twitchell was also an accomplished actor. All 5 aboard the plane, 1 of 2 aboard the jet and 3 on the ground killed. |
details in
database |
Mar 17, 1957
|
Ramon Magsaysay
50, president of the Philippines |
Cebu, Philippines |
Philippine Air Force
Douglas C-47 |
Crashed into Mt. Manunggal while on a campaign tour for reelection. All 24 aboard killed. |
details in
database |
Apr 15, 1957
07:47 |
Pedro Infante Cruz
39, Mexican actor, singer |
Merida, Mexico |
TAMSA
B-24 Liberator
XA-KUN |
An engine failed on takeoff, causing the plane to spiral to the ground killing 2 on the ground as well as all occupants on the plane. Infante was co-piloting the plane. All 3 aboard killed. |
|
Feb 6, 1958
14:17 |
Manchester United football team |
Munich, Germany |
British European Airways
Flight 609
Amb. A5-57
G-ALZU
cn:5217 |
Unable to gain altitude, crashed at the end of the runway in a snowstorm. Controversy as to if the cause was ice on the wings or drag from slush on the runway. 23 of 44 aboard killed. 8 team members killed. |
details in
database
|
Mar 22, 1958
02:05 |
Mike Todd
49, film director and producer
Art Cohn
50, screenwriter |
Grants, New Mexico |
Lockheed Loadstar
N300E
cn:2312 |
The aircraft crashed in an area of fog snow and thunderstorms. Liz Taylor, his wife, stayed home ill with bronchitis. The plane was named The Lucky Liz. All 4 aboard including Art Cohn, his biographer were killed. |
details in
database |
Aug 14, 1958
c 3:45 |
Egyptian fencing team |
North Atlantic Ocean, 100 miles W. of Ireland |
KLM Flight 607E
Flight 607E
Lockheed Constellation
PH-LKM cn:4841 |
Six member of the Egyptian fencing team were killed after the aircraft experienced overspeeding of the outer propeller. All 99 aboard killed. |
details in database |
Feb 3, 1959
c 01:00 |
Ritchie Valens,17
Buddy Holly, 22
Jiles "the Big Bopper" Richardson
28, rock and roll singers |
Mason City, Iowa |
Beechcraft Bonanza
N3794N |
Crashed shortly after taking off into poor weather conditions. The pilot was not IFR qualified and flying VFR. Possibly caused by spatial disorientation, unfamiliarity with the attitude indicator or icing. Valens got to go on the flip of a coin leaving Tommy Allsup behind. 4 killed, including pilot Roger Peterson. |
details in
database |
Mar 29, 1959
|
Barthélémy Boganda
49, president of the Central African Republic |
Near Bangui Central African Republic |
Atlas flying boxcar |
The plane exploded in mid-air while on a flight from Berberati to Bangui. Speculation is the plane was shot down. All 9 aboard killed. |
|
| Apr 29, 1959 |
Joaquin Blume
Spanish gymnastics champion |
Valdemeca, Spain |
Iberian Airlines
DC-3
EC-ABC cn:19334 |
Crashed into the east slopes of Sierra de Valdemeca after being diverted due to poor weather. All 28 aboard killed. |
details in
database |