What happened
During a scheduled maritime patrol mission, an aircraft experienced a catastrophic event while in flight. The plane was overtaken by a fire mid-air, which led to a structural explosion. Following the explosion, the aircraft descended and impacted the ocean surface near the Cubi Point Naval Air Station.
There were 13 fatalities resulting from the accident, with no survivors reported among the occupants of the aircraft.
Findings
Official investigations into the crash determined that the sequence of events was initiated by an in-flight fire. The primary cause for this fire was identified as the ignition of magnesium flares being carried on board the aircraft.