The aircraft was a USAF Douglas C-124A-DL Globemaster II of the 374th Troop Carrier Group, serial number 51-0137.

Most of those aboard were airmen who were returning to their duties in South Korea after a five-day rest and recreation leave in Japan.

ATC asked if he wanted a ground-controlled approach (GCA), which Voruz accepted; during this, he could be heard shouting "Give me more power!

[1][2] Sergeant Frank J. Palyn, 434th ECB, who witnessed the crash from his car, said: ...At this instant she seemed to hit an air pocket because she dropped.

They seemed to be pulling the plane around and dragging the left wing behind at an angle causing the spiral prior to the crash.

[1] Air base and local fire department crews were soon on the scene, followed by chaplains and identification teams.

There was a loud surge of power heard, then the aircraft stalled out on its left wing in a flat spin.

Also helping to pull bodies from the wreckage was American missionary Reverend Henry McCune, who lived nearby.

Lieutenant Colonel Theodore P. Tatum Jr., his co-pilot, and a two-man pararescue team arrived on the scene via helicopter at 17:13; their subsequent inspection confirmed that there were no survivors.

[1] According to the accident report, the crash was caused by the pilots' improper flap usage and airspeed loss due to the failure of a port engine.

[1][2] Since the Tachikawa crash was the first aircraft accident in aviation history to result in more than 100 fatalities, it was heavily publicized.

[4] There were no fatalities among people on the ground, but one man in the watermelon patch sustained burns to his head and hands.