On 04 Feb 1945, this aircraft departed Chabua, India for Karachi, India. The aircraft was transporting 33 passengers who were homeward bound to the US.
The aircraft developed mechanical problems and caught fire over a remote jungle area approx. 55 mi. NW of Jorhat. It crashed near the summit of a jungle-covered hill and burned. All crewmembers and passengers were killed with the sole exception of TSgt. Marvin H. Jacobs, who survived the crash with minor injuries and was rescued and cared for by local villagers. Dead: 34.
- Pilot: F/O Cecil A. Weaver
- Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Robert H. Maddox
- Passenger: Capt. Lawrence C. Archer
- Passenger: Capt. Kenneth R. Arnette
- Passenger: Capt. Thomas H. Harper
- Passenger: 1st Lt. James W. Brokaw
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Myron L. Cook
- Passenger: 1st Lt. John A. Flach
- Passenger: 1st Lt. John F. McDonough, Jr.
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Charles B. Moore
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Harold B. Morse
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Howard S. Pierson
- Passenger: 1st Lt. William E. Price
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Frederick J. Raubinger
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Louis P. Worland
- Passenger: 1st Lt. Marshall Young
- Passenger: TSgt. Allan H. Cousins
- Passenger: TSgt. Phillip Feld
- Passenger: TSgt. Robert E. Finks
- Passenger: TSgt. Lawrence G. Jacobs
- Passenger: TSgt. Marvin H. Jacobs
- Passenger: TSgt. Scott F. Mitchell
- Passenger: SSgt. Harlan G. Casper
- Passenger: SSgt. Alva H. Floyd
- Passenger: SSgt. Joseph B. Hewitt, Jr.
- Passenger: SSgt. Merrill R. Hyde
- Passenger: SSgt. David McKissock, Jr.
- Passenger: SSgt. Ernest B. Schenck
- Passenger: SSgt. Forman S. Smith
- Passenger: Sgt. Joseph F. Kehrer
- Passenger: Cpl. Buster Beck
- Passenger: Cpl. L.F. Sellers
- Passenger: Pfc. J.G. Goodman
- Passenger: Pfc. Norman C. Maxfelt
- Passenger: Pvt. Harold B. Erwin
Note: Bolded name is that of sole survivor of this crash. TSgt. Marvin H. Jacobs was thrown clear of the wreckage and ensuing fire, and sustained only minor injuries. He was soon found by a hunter from a local tribal village who witnessed the crash while camped on a nearby hill. The hunter built a bamboo lean-to shelter for Jacobs and cared for him before carrying him down to the village. A runner from the village was sent to notify the US Army. The villagers then built a rough airstrip so the Americans could recover Jacobs with a small aircraft.
View the Crashed Aircraft Site Report (PDF)
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