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Midway Island Ditching: Fuel Exhaustion and Crew Rescue (87755)

Midway Island, United States of AmericaFlight

On September 10, 1950, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (registration 87755) operated by United States Navy - USN was involved in an aviation accident near Midway Island, United States of America in flight. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Navigation error on part of the crew. 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 2026-06-12Data APIEditorial standards

An aircraft ditched near Midway Island due to fuel exhaustion caused by a faulty navigation system. All crew members were rescued by a Navy ship before the plane sank by gunfire.

Incident Overview and Cause of Ditching An aircraft operating en route from Tokyo-Haneda Airport, Japan, to Barbers Point NAS, Hawaii, was forced to ditch near Midway Island. The ditching was attributed to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from a faulty navigation system. The source does not specify the aircraft type, registration, date, or operator. ## Rescue and Subsequent Events Following the ditching, all crew members were rescued by a Navy ship. The aircraft subsequently sank by gunfire. The official investigation identified the probable cause as a navigation error on the part of the crew.

Fuel exhaustion & starvation

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Same operator

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