Alaska Airlines Douglas DC-6A
N6118C
(c/n 45243)
This is a manufacturer's image taken of the aircraft in
its original livery on a test flight over Malibu
in
1958. Originally built for Slick Airways, that concern
cancelled their order and the aircraft went
instead to
Alaska. I assume that it was still in an all freight
configuration although normally DC-6As
were
windowless. On July 21, 1961, whilst making an
approach to Shemya, Alaska, the aircraft
landed
short and crashed and burned, killing all six crew. It was
later determined that several runway
approach
lights were inoperative which fact was not relayed to the crew by the
GCA controller.