Accident Overview
On March 12, 1948, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 4422, operating as a C-54 charter aircraft registered as NC95422, crashed into Mount Sanford in Alaska. The flight was en route from Shanghai, China, to New York City, with a stop in Anchorage for refueling. After departing Anchorage at 8:12 P.M., the aircraft proceeded toward its destination but did not follow the established airway, which routed traffic around Mount Sanford. Instead, the flight took a direct path and struck the mountain.
Impact and Wreckage
The initial impact occurred on the mountain, after which the wreckage slid approximately 3,000 feet down the slope before coming to rest. There were no survivors among the 30 people on board, which included a crew of six and 24 passengers. The passengers were American merchant mariners, crew members of the tanker SS Sunset, being transported back to the United States.
Aftermath
The accident site was located on Mount Sanford, a remote and rugged terrain in Alaska. The investigation did not specify a probable cause for the deviation from the published airway. The aircraft's flight path and the circumstances leading to the crash remain documented as a deviation from standard procedures.