No fatalities

Emergency Belly Landing on Siakwan Island Due to Technical Failure (42-96673)

Siakwan Island (Nanjing), ChinaFlight

On January 8, 1945, a Curtiss C-46 Commando (registration 42-96673) operated by United States Army Air Forces - USAAF (1941-1947) was involved in an aviation accident near Siakwan Island (Nanjing), China in flight. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: A technical failure of unknown origin forced an emergency belly landing. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-08-05Data APIEditorial standards

A technical failure of unknown origin forced a crew to execute an emergency belly landing on Siakwan Island in the Yangtze River near Nanjing. All occupants survived without injury, but the aircraft was destroyed.

What happened

During flight operations off Nanjing, the crew encountered a sudden technical malfunction of unknown origin. The nature of the failure necessitated an immediate emergency response, leading the pilot to initiate a forced landing procedure. The aircraft was brought down via a belly landing on Siakwan Island, located within the Yangtze River.

The impact resulted in significant structural damage to the airframe, rendering it beyond repair. Despite the severity of the crash and the resulting destruction of the vehicle, all individuals aboard survived the incident. There were no reported injuries among the occupants following the emergency landing.

Probable cause

A technical failure of unknown origin forced an emergency belly landing.