What happened
During the 1962 mission of Operation Deep Freeze, a Lockheed Neptune was performing a takeoff from the skiway at Wilkes Station, Antarctica. The aircraft had previously experienced an extremely heavy landing that caused significant structural damage to its internal systems. Specifically, a 400-gallon fuel tank located in the bomb bay became detached from its mounts. This mechanical failure resulted in raw fuel leaking from a four-inch filler pipe and flowing along the underside of the fuselage.
As the aircraft accelerated for takeoff and engaged the Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) units, the escaping fuel ignited. The resulting fire spread rapidly, consuming the fiberglass tail cone and generating dense, acrid smoke that entered the cockpit, obscuring the pilots' vision. In an attempt to recover, the crew tried to return to the airfield, but the aircraft was unable to maintain flight. Before impact, the pilot successfully leveled the wings, which contributed to some of the survival of those on board. The accident resulted in 5 fatalities and 4 survivors.
Findings
An investigation into the accident determined that the crash was caused by a collision with the ground following an intense and uncontrollable fire located in the area of the landing gear and bomb bay fuel tank.