C-124 and the Tragedy at Tachikawa

摘要

On June 18, 1953, aDoug-las C-124A transport of the 374th Troop Carrier Group prepared for takeoff from the runway at Tachikawa AB, Japan. Maj. Herbert G. Voruz Jr. was the aircraft commander. At age 37, Voruz had flown more than 6,000 hours. His pilot was Maj. Robert D. McCorkle, also an experienced pilot. Another pilot, Maj. Paul E. Kennedy, was on board to log flying time. As the Globemaster II taxied out for the pretakeoff checklist, maintenance personnel watched it with some anxiety. In recent weeks almost half of the big transports had taxied back in after their engine run-ups encountered some discrepancy-too large a magneto drop or electrical problems with the generator.