Civil Air Transport Flight 106 was a Curtiss C-46D Commando, registration number B-908 (C/N 32950),"Ci – Cz"
Airplane Crash Info. that was operated by

Civil Air Transport Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported the United States' covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consi ...

, which was a front company operated by the CIA. On 20 June 1964, the aircraft crashed near the village of Shenkang, western Taiwan, killing all 57 people aboard.

The accident

Shortly after take-off from Taichung, the number one engine oversped. The pilot began a left turn to perform an emergency landing at the airport or a nearby military air base. While turning, the pilot lost control and the aircraft crashed in a left wing low and a steep nose down attitude.

The aircraft

The flight was being operated by a C-46D, which had accumulated 19,488 operational hours from 1944 to 1964.

Causes

The Taiwanese CAA concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the failure of the #1 engine, compounded by

pilot error In aviation, pilot error generally refers to an action or decision made by a Aircraft pilot#Airline, pilot that is a substantial contributing factor leading to an Aviation accidents and incidents, aviation accident. It also includes a pilot ...

during attempts at recovery while returning to Taichung Airport (later renamed Shuinan Airport and now closed) or Taichung Air Base.1964
Airplane Crash Info. However, this conclusion was disputed by

, who seems to favour instead a theory of hijacking by a passenger.B-908 CRASH OPERATIONS REPORT

Passengers

Among the dead were 20 Americans, one Briton, and members of the Malaysian delegation to the 11th Film Festival in Asia, including businessman

Loke Wan Tho Malay titles, Tan Sri Loke Wan Tho (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Lu̍k Yun-thàu''; 14 June 1915 - 20 June 1964) was a Malaysian business magnate, ornithologist, and photographer. He was the founder of Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia a ...

and his wife Mavis.

References

Aviation accidents and incidents in Taiwan Aviation accidents and incidents in 1964 Accidents and incidents involving the Curtiss C-46 Commando Civil Air Transport accidents and incidents June 1964 in Asia 1964 in Taiwan 1964 disasters in Taiwan Aircraft hijackings in Asia Hijackings in the 1960s {{aviation-accident-stub