List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1972

• On 5 January, Douglas C-47B CF-KAH of Mackenzie Air was damaged beyond economic repair at Norman Wells Airport.[1]
• On 21 January, Douglas DC-3 FAC-661 of SATENA crashed at San Nicolas whilst operating a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight from Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, Medellín to Gerardo Tobar López Airport, Buenaventurea.[2]

• On 10 February, a Douglas DC-3 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines was written off near Dhaka, killing all five people on board. The aircraft was on a training flight.[3]
• During February, Douglas C-47 T.3-13 of the Ejército del Aire was reported to have been involved in an accident and was subsequently withdrawn from use.[4]

• On 14 March, Douglas C-47 HC-SJE of Ecuatoriana de Aviación was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Sangai.[5]

• On 11 April, Douglas C-47 VH-PNB of Trans Australia Airlines overran the runway on landing at Madang Airport, ending up in the sea damaged beyond economic repair.[6]
• On 20 April, Douglas C-47D OB-R-653 of SATCO crashed into Mount Killukichu near Moyobamba. The aircraft was operating a domestic cargo flight from FAP Captain José Abelardo Quiñones González International Airport to Tarapoto Airport via Moyobamba Airport. All six people on board were killed.[7][8]

• On 8 May, Douglas VC-47J YV-C-GAI of Aerotechnica crashed into a mountain whilst on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Tomás de Heres Airport, Ciudad Bolívar to La Centella Airport. All seven people on board were killed.[9]

• On 2 July, Douglas C-47B F-WSGU of Rousseau Aviation was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Kulusuk Airport.[10]
• On 7 July, Douglas DC-3 XW-PHW of Cambodia Air Commercial overran the runway on landing at Kompong Som Airport and was damaged beyond economic repair.[11]
• On 11 July, Douglas C-47B HZ-AAK of Saudi Arabian Airlines was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Tabuk Airport.[12]
• On 17 July, Douglas C-47A VH-MAE of Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea was damaged beyond economic repair when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing at Madang Airport. The aircraft was operating a domestic cargo flight from Wapenamanda Airport.[13]
• On 21 July, Douglas C-53 N39393 of Acme Leasing overran the runway on landing at Pivijai Airport and was damaged beyond economic repair. The aircraft was on a flight from Tocumen International Airport, Panama City, Panama to Queen Beatrix International Airport, Oranjestad, Aruba when a smell of burning was detected in the cockpit and the pilot decided to divert to Pivijai.[14]
• On 29 July, Douglas C-53s HK-107 and HK-1341 of Avianca were involved in a mid-air collision over the Las Palomas Mountains. Both aircraft crashed, killing 21 people on HK-107 and 17 people on HK-1341. Both aircraft were operating domestic scheduled passenger flights from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to El Yopal Airport.[15][16]

C-47 at the Museuo Aeronaútico de Maracay

• On 4 August, Douglas DC-3 N31538 of Mercer Airlines suffered an in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off from NAS Point Mugu, California on a cargo flight to Hollywood-Burbank Airport. The aircraft departed the runway in the emergency landing and was destroyed by the subsequent fire. All three people on board survived.[17]
• On 4 August, Douglas C-47B 6850 of the South African Air Force was written off in an accident at Snake Valley,[18] near AFB Swartkop.[19]
• On 16 August, Douglas C-47B XY-ACM of Burma Airways crashed shortly after take-off from Thandwe Airport on a scheduled passenger flight. All 28 people on board were killed.[20]
• On 20 August, Douglas DC-3A PK-ZDD of Zamrud Airlines was written off in an accident at Sumbawa Besar.[21]
• On 27 August, Douglas C-47 YV-C-AKE of LAV suffered a failure of the port engine shortly after take-off from Canaima Airport on a domestic scheduled passenger flight to Tomás de Heres Airport, Ciudad Bolivar. The aircraft crashed whilst attempting to return to Canaima, killing all 34 people on board.[22] The aircraft, c/n 4705, is preserved at the Museo Aeronaútico de Maracay.[23]

• On 10 September, Douglas C-47 ET-ABQ of Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Gondar following the in-flight separation of the starboard wing. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Axum Airport to Gondar Airport. All 11 people on board were killed.[24]
• On 13 September, Douglas C-47A 9N-RF10 of the Nepalese Army Air Service crashed near Panchkhal after hitting electricity supply lines. The aircraft was engaged in parachuting activity, based at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.[25]
• On 17 September, Douglas C-47A CP-565 of Aerolíneas Abaroa crashed on take-off from El Alto International Airport, La Paz. The aircraft was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight. All four people on board survived.[26]
• On 25 September, Douglas C-47A TAM-24 of TAM was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Caranavi Airport.[27] A photograph taken in 1981 shows the hulk of the aircraft was at El Alto International Airport, La Paz.[28]
• On 30 September, Douglas C-47B EC-AQE of Spantax crashed on take-off from Madrid-Barajas Airport. The aircraft was being used for training duties and the student pilot over-rotated and stalled. One of the six people on board was killed.[29]

• On 2 October, Douglas C-47 XW-TDA of Cambodia Air Commercial was shot down on approach to Kampot Airport. The aircraft was operating a passenger flight, all nine people on board were killed.[30]
• On 30 October, Douglas C-47B VH-PNA of Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea overran the runway on landing at Madang Airport. The aircraft was subsequently withdrawn from use and used for fire practice, eventually being scrapped in 1978.[31]

C-47 in USAF colours

• On 1 November, Douglas DC-3 4W-ABJ of Yemen Airlines was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Beihan Airport.[32]
• / On 17 November, Douglas C-47A CF-FOL of S & H Aviation Sales ditched east of St John's following fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was operating an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Keflavík International Airport to St. John's International Airport. All three people on board were killed.[33]
• On 21 November, Douglas EC-47Q 43-49771 of the United States Air Force crashed at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base, killing two of the 10 people on board.[34] The aircraft was operated by the 361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, United States Air Force. It had flown a tactical mission under the callsign "Baron 56", and had taken off at about 10:44 local time (03:44 UTC). At 17:00, the aircraft was returning from the mission when it bounced on landing and started to depart the left side of the runway. The pilot over-corrected, causing the aircraft to depart to the right of the runway. Although a go-around was initiated, the aircraft impacted trees damaging the port propellor. The co-pilot considered that the starboard engine was failing and that engine's propellor was feathered. The aircraft then crashed into another bank of trees 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) beyond the end of the runway. The wrecked aircraft was consumed in the post-crash fire.[35]

Philippine Air Force C-47A

• On 1 December, Douglas C-47A CF-TQW of Reindeer Air Service crashed into a mountain west of Norman Wells, Northwest Territories. The aircraft was operating a cargo flight which had departed from Norman Wells Airport. Both crew were killed.[36]
• On 6 December, Douglas C-47B CF-AUQ of Superior Airways crashed 11.9 miles (19 km) south of Lake Randall, Quebec. All three people on board survived.[37]
• On 26 December, a Douglas C-47 of the Philippine Air Force was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Tonquil Island.[38]

• List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in the 1970s

^Note A Military versions of the DC-3 were known as C-47 Skytrain, C-48, C-49, C-50, C-51, C-52, C-53 Skytrooper, C-68, C-84, C-117 Super Dakota and YC-129 by the United States Army Air Forces and as the R4D by the United States Navy. In Royal Air Force (and other British Commonwealth air forces') service, these aircraft were known as Dakotas.