What happened
On the evening of December 23, a Douglas DC-4 was forced to perform an emergency ditching in the Pacific Ocean. The incident occurred at the conclusion of a training mission when the pilot reported that the number three engine had developed an uncontrollable fire. At the time of the event, the aircraft was operating in dark night conditions with light rain and fog, featuring a 900-foot overcast and visibility limited to 1.5 miles. The sea state consisted of approximately 10-foot swells with a 10-second period.
Following the ditching, the aircraft remained buoyant for roughly 10 minutes. The two crew members utilized life rafts to navigate away from the site, drifting northeast for at least 14 nautical miles over a duration of 16 hours. While the flight path crossed the Pacific coastal ADIZ on at least two occasions, there was no radar confirmation of these entries, and no distress signals were received on the 121.5 MHz frequency. No debris or wreckage has been located near the Washington coastline.
Findings
Official investigations into the incident have not reached a final conclusion regarding the specific origin of the engine fire. While the sequence of events involved an engine fire, a forced landing, and a subsequent ditching, the exact cause of the mechanical failure remains undetermined. There were no reported fatalities or injuries among the two crew members during the survival period.