Accident Overview
A short positioning flight from Roi-Namur Airport, located in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll, to the main airport of Kwajalein in the southern part of the same atoll ended in an overrun during takeoff. The aircraft was on the takeoff roll on runway 04 when the captain decided to abort for unknown reasons. Unable to stop within the remaining runway distance, the aircraft overran the runway and came to rest in the sea.
Damage and Recovery
The impact with the water caused the left wing to break in two. The aircraft was later removed from the water but was declared as damaged beyond repair. Despite the severity of the damage, there were no injuries among the 16 occupants on board.
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to US Army Louis D. Sutton, pilot-in-command of the following US Army C-54 that was scheduled to take off immediately after the accident aircraft, for his testimony.