Flight Details
Flight 324 departed Elmendorf Air Force Base at 2111 on January 18, carrying the same 40 passengers who had boarded at Haneda Air Force Base, Tokyo. The aircraft had 2,600 gallons of fuel and 100 gallons of oil aboard. Gross weight at takeoff was 68,275 pounds (permissible 71,800), and the load was properly distributed with relation to the center of gravity. The flight climbed to an assigned altitude of 10,000 feet. At 2213, shortly after passing Middleton Island, the crew requested and received clearance to descend to 8,000 feet, reaching that altitude at 2222.
Engine Trouble and Diversion
The trip was uneventful until opposite Sitka, Alaska, when at 0003 on January 19 the pilot reported that the No. 1 propeller had been feathered. In a subsequent transmission at 0029, the pilot ascribed the trouble to a "broken" oil cooler and advised that the flight was proceeding to Sandspit. The crew requested weather forecasts for Annette, Sandspit, and Port Hardy. After receiving information that Annette weather was below minimums, the pilot advised that a precautionary landing would be made at Sandspit, with an estimated time of arrival of 0128. The flight was cleared to that point and proceeded without further incident on three engines.
Aborted Landing and Crash
The aircraft touched down at a point about one-third down the runway. After a short roll, power was applied at about the mid-point of the strip, and the aircraft took off, barely clearing a low fence and driftwood approximately two feet high at the end of the runway. The aircraft was last observed by a ground witness in a shallow left bank at low altitude. It then settled into the water at near stalling speed during the attempted climb-out, bounced, and came to rest 26 degrees to the left and approximately 4,500 feet from the end of the runway, in Hecate Strait.
Rescue and Aftermath
After the aircraft failed to reappear at the approach end of the landing strip, the Sandspit radio operator discovered from the shouting of survivors that the flight had crashed. He immediately sent messages to activate Search and Rescue facilities. The wreckage could not be seen due to limited visibility. Accompanied by a Canadian customs official, the radio operator launched his small boat and rescued the seven survivors who were standing on and clinging to the right wing tip of the partially submerged aircraft. Other aircraft in the area attempted to light the area with flares and locate the wreckage but were unsuccessful. Air and water temperatures were near freezing; drowning and exposure accounted for 36 fatalities. No steps were taken to prepare passengers for a crash landing or possible ditching. Emergency lighting in the cabin was not utilized, nor were any effective measures taken to remove life rafts at the rear of the cabin. Search and Rescue facilities were not alerted until after the accident because three-engine operation over water was considered a potential, not actual, emergency.
Probable Cause
The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the high approach to the airstrip and the attempt to again become airborne at insufficient air speed, which resulted in the aircraft settling into the water.