Background
A four-engine cargo aircraft was operating a flight from Travis Air Force Base (AFB) in California to Tachikawa Air Base in Japan, with intermediate stops at Hickam Field in Hawaii and Wake Island. The aircraft was carrying a load of various goods.
Accident
While approaching Tachikawa AFB in poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mount Ōyama, a peak 1,252 metres high located 24 kilometres west of the airbase. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, and all eight occupants were killed.
Investigation
The official investigation into the accident determined that the crew continued the approach below the minimum safe altitude. Investigators suggested that the crew may have been following a wrong altimeter setting, which could have led to the descent below the safe altitude.