ACTIVITY: Air / Sea disaster CASE: GSAF 1965.11.03.b DATE: Wednesday November 3, 1965 LOCATION: The incident took place in the Caribbean Sea in the Golfo de los Mosquitos, Panama. 09º21'N, 81º13"W (approximate location) AIRCRAFT: Argentine Air Force C-54E Skymaster (Tail No. TC-48) with 68 people on board. BACKGROUND WEATHER: The sky was cloudy and the air temperature was 77ºF. MOON PHASE: First Quarter, November 1, 1965 SEA CONDITIONS: The sea surface temperature was reported to be 83ºF and the water was murky. DISTANCE FROM SHORE: Approximately 35 miles. TIME: 07h30 local time NARRATIVE: 3 NOV 1965. RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER (RCC) MISSION #78: Life Preservers from Argentine Air Force aircraft that went down in the Caribbean Sea near or what is known as Golfo de los Mosquitos, off the North coast of the Isthmus of Panama. Two life preservers and a coat examined at the Tropic Survival School all had definite shark damage. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: At 0752 hours on 3 November 1965, an Argentine Air Force C-54 aircraft with 68 persons on board declared an inflight emergency; this was the last known message. The aircraft disappeared. After several days search, items of clothing, life preservers and other debris was found floating in the ocean. Those items were identified as coming from the lost aircraft, they showed definite signs of shark bite. No bodies were found. H. Morgan Smith, Director, Tropic Survival School Drawer B Albrook AFB, Canal Zone Dated: 23 November 1965 NOTE: According the SAF file, The body of a male clad in military clothing and thought to be onboard the aircraft when it went down was apparently recovered. The background information above is presumed to refer to environmental conditions at the time the body was retrieved. Smith forwarded 5 color slides and 5 photographs to the SAF and are on GSAF microfilm. GSAF has been working with Rudy M. Isaad, TC-48 Lead Researcher (2008), and more recently Mariano Torres Garcia (2015) to locate the remains of the aircraft, and bring closure for the families who lost loved ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpuiq99b10o To watch a video of the October 15 to November 4, 2015 expedition searching for the aircraft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vrcj_mhoqq Correspondence with Rudy M. Isaad, TC-48 Lead Researcher Reporte de la Primer Busqueda Maritima del Avion Douglas C-54G Matricula TC48 perteneciente a las Fuerza Aerea Argentina, Costa Rica 15 de Octubre al 5 de Noviembre de 2015 by Mariano Torres Garcia, Expedition Leader The pilot of the TC 48 declared a state of emergency to airport control towers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and San Salvador, El Salvador. He stated there was a fire in a right wing engine. Although there was some speculation that the aircraft went down in the jungle of Costa Rica, all evidence indicates the aircraft crashed in the sea.
Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas), Thursday, November 4, 1965, page 28
Appleton Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin), Thursday, 4 November 1965, page 29
Pacific Stars And Stripes (Japan), Tuesday 9 November 1965, page 23 The Valley Independent (Monessen, Pennsylvania), Wednesday 8 December 1965, page 25