What happened
On an unspecified date, a mid-air collision occurred near Otis Air Force Base involving two military aircraft. The incident involved a Douglas VC-47A and a Lockheed F-94B Starfire, registered 51-5407.
Shortly after departing from the airbase, both aircraft were climbing through heavy cloud cover at an altitude ranging between 6,000 and 7,000 feet. During this phase of flight, the two planes collided in the clouds. Following the impact, both aircraft lost stability and entered uncontrolled descents. The planes subsequently crashed into a field located only a few miles from Otis AFB.
The collision resulted in a total of 12 fatalities, as there were no survivors from either aircraft. The crew of the VC-47A consisted of 10 members, while the F-94B Starfire was manned by a two-person crew.
Findings
Preliminary investigations indicated that both aircraft were operating within cloud layers at the time of the accident. The primary contributing factor was the failure of both flight crews to visually detect one another before the collision occurred, likely due to the lack of visibility provided by the cloud cover.