Transocean Air Lines Flight 942

Transocean Air Lines Flight 942 was a military charter flight operated by Transocean Air Lines. Soldiers commonly used Transocean aircraft for needed travel as they had a contract with the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The flight was chartered to transfer military personnel for a rotation from New Mexico to Guam. No weather problems were predicted, yet multiple weather systems were spotted in California. At 12:11 MST on March 20, 1953, the flight departed from Roswell, New Mexico, to Oakland, California. The flight was normal at first, but disappeared from radar at 18:36 PST. Two minutes later, the aircraft, a Douglas DC-4, crashed in a barley field in Oakland, California, killing all 35 occupants.

Rescue services attempted to transport the victims to hospitals, but delayed efforts due to poor road conditions in the area. Six survivors were rescued, but ultimately died at Fairmont Hospital. As there were no survivors, ambulances carried the bodies to the Parks Air Force Base for identification that continued beyond the clearing of the crash site. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) commenced its investigation of the crash on March 21. Parts were arranged in a manner to replicate the aircraft. The investigation concluded that the probable crash reason was due to lack of control for unknown reasons; weather problems caused ice to form in the aircraft contributing to the crash.