21 May 1944 - Forced Landing of a C-47A Dakota on Norfolk Island

On 21 May 1944 Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-47A Dakota, # 3516, of 40 Squadron RNZAF made a "forced landing" on Norfolk Island.

When 100 miles away from Norfolk Island, the port fuel pressure dropped, and then the starboard motor lost power. But both engines picked up and the plane landed with two engines.

W/O Norfolk thought that cabin tank cocks were left on after the main tanks were selected, so that after the 20 gallons in each cabin tank was used, then air entered the system. The Flight Engineer said he was unfamiliar with fuel system, and Massey failed to supervise him.

Changes were made to 40 Squadron practices to ensure that the flight engineer was checked out on each new type of plane.

NOTE:- Air files AIR vol 1 No 25/2/... in NZ National Archives, Wellington cover RNZAF accidents & crashes including WWII. They range from landing mishaps to writeoffs & missing planes. The details of this crash were in File 25/2/1544.

© Peter Dunn 2001
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