1945 Peip'ing C-46 crash
The 1945 Peip'ing Curtiss C-46 Commando crash occurred on October 12, 1945, when a USAAF Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft crashed near Nanyuan Airport in Peip'ing while en route to there from Hankou. All 59 people on board perished. It was the deadliest plane crash in 1945 and, at the time it occurred, the deadliest one on the soil of the Republic of China. The crash also is the worst ever involving the C-46.
On the day of the accident, the aircraft, carrying 55 Chinese soldiers and a crew of four, neared Peip'ing in unfavorable overcast weather conditions. In addition, Nanyuan Airport was lacking in radio beacons, forcing the crew to rely on a commercial broadcasting station to navigate. On approach, the C-46 struck the station's radio antenna and crashed, killing all aboard.
