This is a list of accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-3 that have taken place in the period 1980–1989, including aircraft based on the DC-3 airframe such as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Lisunov Li-2. Military accidents are included; and hijackings and incidents of terrorism are covered, although acts of war are outside the scope of this list.
1980 5 January In Canada, Douglas DC-3 C-FBKX of Lambair was damaged at Thompson Airport in Thompson, Manitoba. The landing gear retracted while the aircraft was on the ground, after the selector control in the cockpit was inadvertently moved to the 'up' position.
18 January Douglas C-47A L2-13/96 of 603 Squadron, Royal Thai Air Force crashed into the sea off the coast of Thailand near Si Racha. All five people on board were killed. The aircraft was struck off charge on 4 February.
24 January In Colombia, Douglas C-53D HK-2214 of Aerotal Colombia crashed at El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá after an inflight engine failure following which the propeller on the operating engine was mistakenly feathered. The aircraft was on a test flight. All four on board were killed.
1 March A Douglas C-47 of the Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca was damaged beyond repair near La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala.
13 March Douglas C-47B CP-1243 of Aerolíneas La Paz crashed at Beni, Colombia shortly after take-off from Beni Airport.Flight International, 24 January 1981, p241 Retrieved 22 July 2010; accessed again on 31 December 2016. The aircraft was on a cargo flight to San Borja Airport, Bolivia.
18 March In Ethiopia, Douglas C-47B ET-AGM of Ethiopian Airlines crashed whilst on a single-engined approach to Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa. The aircraft was on a training flight.
11 April In the United States, Douglas C-47A N64490 crashed on take-off from Athol-Silverwood Airport, Idaho following an engine failure. Both crewmembers and one of the four passengers were killed.Flight International 24 January 1981, p233 Retrieved 22 July 2010.
23 April Douglas C-47B N709Z of Florida Preferred Equity crashed in the United States near Dania, Florida when it stalled whilst a go-around was performed. The aircraft was on a private passenger flight from South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Florida. One of the eight people on board was severely injured.
28 May Douglas C-47 HR-SAC of SAHSA crashed on approach to Útila Airport in Honduras when the landing gear struck a wall.
2 July A Douglas C-47 of the Royal Thai Navy crashed into the Gulf of Thailand. Two of the twenty-one people on board were killed.
12 July A Douglas C-47 crashed on approach to Haiti's Toussaint Louverture International Airport, killing all three people on board. The aircraft was being used illegally to transport marijuana.
1 August in the United States, Douglas R4D N45864 crashed at New Smyrna Beach, Florida shortly after take-off from New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport on a ferry flight to Queen Beatrix International Airport, Aruba. The unqualified pilot, who had been drinking, was killed.
8 August Douglas DC-3 G-AMYJ of Lease Air was damaged at London's Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom when it collided with a ground power unit.
23 August Douglas C-47 HJ235 of the Indian Air Force crashed at Guwahati Airport in India, killing all nine people on board.
27 August Douglas C-47B FAP2016 of TAM - Transporte Aéreo Militar crashed in Paraguay on approach to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Asunción. One person was killed. The aircraft was on a flight to Juan de Ayolas Airport when an engine failed shortly after take-off and the decision was made to land back at Asunción.
Douglas DC-3 HP-210 of the Panamanian Air Force was damaged while parked at Panama's Tocumen International Airport; it was hit by the wing of a Boeing 707 (registration CP-1365) of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano.
10 September Douglas C-47 HK-329 of Aeronorte Colombia crashed at Puerto Olaya in Colombia after a wing separated in flight, killing all three people on board. The aircraft was on a cargo flight from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport, Barranquilla to El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá.
12 September In the Bahamas, Douglas DC-3A N75KW of Florida Commuter Airlines, with 34 people on board, crashed in the sea off West End, Grand Bahama; there were no survivors. The aircraft was on an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Palm Beach International Airport in the United States to Grand Bahama International Airport. Although the cause of the accident was never determined, it is known that the aircraft flew into a thunderstorm and that there were pre-existing deficiencies with the pitot tube and static system on the aircraft. Florida Commuter Airlines was subsequently criticized for its poor maintenance regime.
3 October Douglas DC-3 ECT-025, a former Ejército del Aire aircraft, disappeared on a flight from Cuatro Vientos Airport in the Spanish capital Madrid to Perpignan - Rivesaltes Airport in France. The aircraft had been purchased by Kirfiss Aviation and was on the first stage of a ferry flight to Germany where it was destined for a museum. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing both crew.
3 November Douglas C-47B TG-BAC of Aero Express crashed near Flores in Guatemala, killing all seven people on board.
13 November Douglas DC-3 FAC-1311 of SATENA was damaged beyond repair at Subchoque in Colombia.
27 November Douglas C-47A HK-1221G of the Dirección General de Aduanas (the agency of the Colombian government responsible for Customs) flew into a mountain in Colombia near Medellín at an altitude of on a flight to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, Medellín. All 15 people on board were killed.
18 December Douglas C-47A R3711 of the Zimbabwe Air Force crashed at Marandellas in Zimbabwe.
27 December In Iceland, Douglas C-47B N54605 of Visionair International was damaged beyond repair at Reykjavík Airport during a storm.
1981 11 January Douglas C-47A ET-AGW of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair when the port undercarriage collapsed on landing at Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia.
28 January Douglas C-47A PP-ZNU of Sudene crashed at Petrolina Airport in Brazil.
2 March Douglas C-47B HK-2497 of LANSA was substantially damaged in a forced landing at Anapoima in Colombia, following a double engine failure. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service, only to be written off in an accident at La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio on 30 March 1996.
16 March Douglas C-47A C-FIRW of Air Inuit was damaged beyond repair when it broke through the frozen surface of Canada's Lac Bienville whilst taxiing for take-off on a cargo flight.
2 April In Mexico, Douglas C-47A N258M of Sky Train Air was written off in an accident while taxiing at Veracruz International Airport in Veracruz.
6 April Douglas C-47A CP-1470 of Urcupina crashed at Laguna Soliz in Bolivia, killing all seven people on board.
21 April Douglas C-53 F-BJBY of Hemet Exploration disappeared with four people on board off Puerto de Andraitx on the Spanish island of Majorca, while crossing the Mediterranean Sea on an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Oran Es Sénia Airport, Algeria to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, France.
28 April In Indonesia, Douglas C-47A PK-OBK of Airfast Indonesia crashed on approach to Simpang Tiga Airport, Pekanbaru, on a non-scheduled passenger flight. Nine of the seventeen people on board were killed.
9 May Douglas C-47 N60705 of Sky Train Air crashed at Vicente Guerrero in Mexico.
17 June Douglas C-47A HK-1078 of Taxi Aéreo El Venado ditched into a lake near Miraflores Airport in Colombia following an overshoot with an engine shut down. Two of the twelve people on board were killed.
24 June In the United States, Douglas DC-3 N18949 of Nathaniel Hawthorne College crashed shortly after take-off from Hawthorne-Feather Airpark, Deering, New Hampshire while on a ferry flight to Melbourne International Airport, Florida. The pilot, who was seriously injured in the crash, had attempted to take-off with insufficient airspeed for flight.
25 June Douglas C-47 FAC-1129 of SATENA was damaged beyond repair in an accident in Colombia. The aircraft was subsequently withdrawn from use and stored at La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio.
1 July In the United States, Douglas R4D N111ST of United Aircraft Services crashed shortly after take-off from Pilot Point Airport in Alaska while on a flight to Anchorage International Airport, following the failure of the port engine. All three people on board were killed. The aircraft was on a cargo flight laden with fish.
25 July In Colombia, Douglas C-53D HK-772 of Transamazonica crashed on approach to Carurú Airport, Caruru while trying to perform an emergency landing with the starboard engine shut down. Four of the nine people on board were killed.
1 August Douglas C-47B F-BJHC of Hemet Exploration was shot down by a surface-to-air missile near Beira, Mozambique when it was mistaken for a hostile aircraft whilst following instructions from air traffic control. All six people on board were killed. The Mozambique authorities initially tried to cover up the mistake, merely posting the aircraft as "missing". It was admitted later that the aircraft had been shot down.
7 August In Chile, Douglas C-47B CC-CBW of Aerolíneas Cordillera crashed near Teniente Vidal Airport, Coyhaique.
27 August Douglas C-47B ET-AGX of the United Nations Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission was written off at Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport in Ethiopia when the port undercarriage collapsed on landing.
7 October In Ethiopia, Douglas C-47A ET-AHR of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond economic repair at Combolcha Airport, Dessie when the undercarriage collapsed on landing. The aircraft was completely destroyed two months later, when a Mil Mi-24 helicopter crashed into it. 1981 (unknown date) Early in the year, Douglas C-47B 5N-ARA of Arax Airlines was damaged beyond repair in an accident at Lagos Airport in Nigeria and was subsequently reduced to spares.
1982 21 January In the United States, Douglas DC-3A N211TA of Tursair was substantially damaged in an accident at Opa-locka Airport, Florida. The aircraft was on a training flight and the trainee pilot mishandled the engine controls, causing a temporary loss of power. The aircraft ran off the runway and collided with a tree. Inadequate supervision and the failure of the student pilot to relinquish control of the aircraft to the instructor were cited as contributing to the accident.
9 February In the Philippines, Douglas C-47A RP-C141 of Trans Air Services flew into Mount Ipao, Panay Island on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight from Manila International Airport to Sicogon Airport, Carles. Both crew and one of the thirty-two passengers were killed.Flight International, 22 January 1983, p205 Retrieved 23 July 2010.
7 May Douglas C-47A C-FQHF of Kenn Borek Air overran the runway at Calgary International Airport in Canada following an aborted take-off.Flight International, 31 July 1982, p267 Retrieved 23 July 2010. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. The aircraft was subsequently purchased by Buffalo Airways and moved to Hay River, North West Territories for use as a spares source.
6 June Douglas C-47A N95C of Fromhagen Aviation was written off in the United States when the starboard engine failed on take-off from St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, Florida on a training flight. All five people on board survived.