1952 Bermuda air crash

The 1952 Bermuda air crash occurred on 6 December 1952, when a Douglas DC-4, registered CU-T397 and operated by Cubana de Aviación, flying from Madrid to Havana,[1] crashed into the Atlantic Ocean following a refuelling stop at Kindley Air Force Base in Bermuda. There were 33 passengers and 8 crew on board the aircraft. The flight arrived at Kindley Air Force Base at 03:30.[1] After an hour's stopover spent refuelling the aircraft, the DC-4 departed; at 04:45, during the initial climb, the aircraft stalled, lost height and crashed tail first into the sea. The accident killed 37 passengers and crew; three passengers and a crewmember survived the crash,[1] and were rescued shortly after the crash.

1952 Bermuda air crash

A Douglas DC-4 similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date	6 December 1952
Summary	Lost control and crashed after takeoff; cause undetermined
Site	Bermuda
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-4
Operator	Cubana de Aviación
Registration	CU-T397
Flight origin	Kindley Air Force Base now L.F. Wade International Airport, Bermuda
Destination	José Martí International Airport, Cuba
Occupants	41
Passengers	33
Crew	8
Fatalities	37
Injuries	4
Survivors	4

Bermuda's Director of Civil Aviation, E. M. Ware, said at the time that the take-off apparently had been normal. It is believed no message came from the plane before it plunged into the sea, probably while still pushing the engines hard to gain altitude. Four survivors were taken to the Kindley base hospital.

The cause of the accident was not determined; it remains the worst aviation accident in Bermudian history.[1]