KLM Prestwick Constellation Accident 1948
KLM Prestwick Constellation Accident 1948
KLM Prestwick Constellation Accident 1948
CIRCULAR 18 - A N / I ~
CIRCULAR
JUNE 1951
INTERNATIONAL
CIVIL AVIATION
ORGANIZATION
MONTREAL CANADA
T h i s Publication is i s s u e d i n English, F r e n c h and Spanish.
In F r e n c h c u r r e n c y ( f r ) , to In Egyptian c u r r e n c y ( m / m s ) , t o
Foreword ......................................................... 7
m o t Error ..................................................... 11
P a r t I.- Sunrmarles of Aircraft Accident Reports ....................... 13
ICAO Ref.
-
BURMA
~~/119 Ullion of Burma Ahways, Dove a i r c r a f t XY-DRY crashed
-
CANADA
AR/121
Gander Lake, Newfoundland, on 18 August 1950 ..............
Norseman V I a i r c r a f t CF-GFG crashed on take-off a t
15
Norseman V a i r c r a f t CF-OBH crashed near Ontario,
~./122
on 30 August 1950 .........................................
Timagami,
16
AR/123 M62A-3
Fairchild a i r c r a f t
P o d Huron, Michigan, U.S.A. on 1April 1950 ..............
CF-FXC, crashed north of
18
AR/126
.
Canadian Pacific ALr Lines, Do~uglasDC-3 a i r c r a f t CF-CUF,
crashed a t Okanagan Mountain, B. C. on 22 December 1950 ... 22
ICAO Circular 18-8N/15
ICAO Ref,
,
Svensk Flygtjanst Ltdo F b e f l y S3-w~crashed during
a forced landing, near Kbge, Denmark, on 13 Jmuqv 1950 0
46
ICBO Circular 18-AN/l5
! h i s is, therefore, %he firlst i s s u e under the new title, though PIhs
fsm and content a r e s W m %CJ that of previous reports, It is hoped thaL
Sta%ss will cooperate to the %ulPest extent t h e i r nationdl laws permit i n the
s u ~ s s i o nof material f o r ine~uesioni n fgtme' issues sf this Digest, 1% i a
reesgxdsed t h a t investigations take a diversity of farms under the varfetiy
of constlt.utiants3, and J u ~ i d l c i dsyrstems
. that e x i s t throughout the memhrsslbip
of ICAO, accident investigation prexien%irmg one of the h o t t i e a t p r o U a 8 o f
a$tmds~°Biziationni n inkrnettionerl! c i v i l aviation f o r t h i s very reason, A t %he
s a w time f % i a a most f r u i t ~ f dsource of material f o r t h e attainment of the
ob$ectivea of the Chicago Canveotfon,
8 ICAO Circular 18-AN/15 *
1 ) Aircraft me;
2) State of Registry;
Camnents
Structural Failure 4 6.6% 1 2.6% - - 4 6 An appreciable decrease presumably due t o better design
and maintenance.
Fire - Explosion 4 6.6% - 1 * 2.6% - -4 % * This case due t o sabotage by infernal machine.
Flying into t e r r a i n 11 18 % 10 # 5 13.26 5 - 4.89 Decrease of 50% i n t h i s major type of accident, where
the consequences are so often f a t a l .
Note.- The t o t a l number of accidents auoted above has no siznification. nor should the above fieurea be used for s t a t i s t i c a l m s e s as they do not ~ r o v i d e4
gomlete ~ i c t u r edue to lack of information frm a number of Statep.
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
-
.
-
--
ICAO Circular 18-~/15
-- --- la
B a T ERROR
-
ICAO REF : AR/119
9Q No l ~ s s
of l i f e OP injury occurred,
Circumstances
The p i l o t held a valid Senior Commercial P i l o t Licence and had logged well
over 3,080 hoursD f l y i n g time,
16 ICAO Circular 18-AN/15
Conclusions
ICAO REF: w 1 2 2
C ircumstance s
The a i r c r a f t took off from Trout Lake, (North Bay), with p i l o t , engineer,
four passengers, and roughly 1,200 pounds of equipment f o r Timagemi, Ontario.
A fisherman on I n g a l l Lake s t a t e d t h a t he saw an a i r c r a f t f l y over a t roughly
1,200 f e e t and heard the engine cut out f o r a period of approximately ten
seconds then pick up againo It was t h i s man's opinion t h a t , although the engine
caught again, i t did not appear t o have the same power and sounded a s though
it was missing, B short time l a t e r , two men, located a t separate points on
the shore of Wilson Lake, heard an a i r c r a f t approaching and s t a t e d t h a t the
engine was sputtering and missing and t h a t the a i r c r a f t was losing height, One
of these witnesses s t a t e d t h a t j u s t before the a i r c r a f t went out of s i g h t it
banked steeply t o the r i g h t and then went i n t o a spino A fourth man i n h i s
cabin a t Milne Lake, heard an engine r o a r very loudly and then fade out three
times* The sound seemed t o be q u i t e close and he stepped out the door j u s t i n
time t o see the a i r c r a f t h i t the ground t h i r t y feet' awayo F i r e broke out
immediately and i n a matter of secondsthe a i r c r a f t was a mass of flameo
ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ / 1 5 17
Between the' point where the engine was f i r s t reported t o have been
malfunctioning and the location of the accident, the a i r c r a f t passed over two
lakes which could have provided adequate space f o r a successful forced landing.
Gonclusions
ICAO E F : AR/122
Circumstances
Conelusionp
ICAO REF:
On 20 O c t ~ b %gfiOg
r nightp a s defined i n the Air Regulations, began i n
the MiLPedgevflle area a t 1 7 / ! hours ASTO In the p i l o t g s f l i g h t plan, one hour
and f i f t e e n minutes was shown f o r the time en route, thus giving 1812 hours AST
a s the estirrmated time of a r r i v a l a t M i l l i d g e ~ i l l e ~This time i s t h i r t y minutes
a f t e ~the beginning of night, a s defined i n the Air Re@ationsn The accident
occurred a t approxfm;ately 18% hours AST, forty-eight minutes a f t e r the
beginning of nighto The Saint John a i r p o r t a t MillidgeviPle i s not licensed
f o r night flying and the a i r c r a 4 t i t s e l f carried no l i g h t i n g equipment whatsoever.
Circumstanceg
I n v e s t i ~ a t i o nand Fimdinas
After the l e f t wing touched the ground, the a i r c r a f t continued along the
ground out of control, shearing off the l e f t wing j u s t inboard of the l e f t miin
gear attachment f i t t i n g s , and f i n a l l y came t o r e s t approximately 400 f e e t from
%he point of initial contact u i t h the gr-d, facing lqOO approximately from the
direction of approach, The fuselage, r i g h t wing, and r i g h t main landing gear
remained i n t a c t and engines numbers 3 and 4 were s t i l l operating a t f u l l power
22 ICAO Cfreular 18-AN/15
Conclusions
,
The Captain, a f t e r using up h i s Regular ( ~ a n d e r ) and Alternate
,
( ~ t e p h e n v i l l e ) Airports, exercised h i s prerogative and decided t o land a t
Sydney,
The cause of the accident was the impact of the a i r c r a f t with the ground
while out of control due t o f a i l u r e on the p a r t of the Captain t o maintain
s u f f i c i e n t height t o c l e a r the approach l i g h t poles, three of which were struck
by the a i r c r a f t o After s t r i k i n g the approach l i g h t poles, the Captain and
F i r s t Officer were unable to maintain control of the a i r c r a f t due to the mal-
functioning of numbers l and 2 engines and s t r u c t u r a l damage t o the l e f t wing
and f l a p ,
ICAO REF: W 1 2 6
CANADA
Circamstances
The altimeters were both found t o be inoperative and, while one was
damaged more than the other, both had the rocking s h a f t pivot sheared o f f a t
the point of contact with the jewelo It i s considered t h a t the damage t o the
altimeters was caused by the impact of the a i r c r a f t a t the time of the accidento
Barometric s e t t i n g s on the a l t i m e t e r s were found t o be 29*92" Hg, The
discrepancy between the altimeter s e t t i n g a t Penticton and t h a t a c t u a l l y s e t on
the altimeters a t the worst i s 2/10oH Hgo = 20 f e e t error. Altimeter temperature
correction f o r - l l ° C a t 6,500 f e e t indicated would give a t r u e a l t i t u d e of
6,200 f e e t , i o e o the a i r c r a f t would ?x.300 f e e t lower than indicated.
The engine control pedestal and control cables were too badly damaged
f o r t h e i r s e t t i n g s p r i o r t o the accident t o be determinedo The engines showed
no evidence of malfunctioning p r i o r t o the accident, Engine log books and
aircrew log books were a l l up t o date and i n order,
The Journey and Aircraft Log Book was up t o date and i n order. The p i l o t -
in-command held a valid Public Transport P f l o t 9 s Licence (No. 346), and a valid
instrument r a t i n g and he had a t o t a l flying time of 8655 hours and 29 minutes,
of which 64 hours and 58 minutes were obtained i n the month of December 1950.
ICAO Cfr c u l a r 18-AN/15 25
During 1950, he had been employed mainly on the Vancouver-Calgary route where
he had acquired 308 hours and 39 minutes a s F i r s t Officer and 560 hours and
58 minutes a s pilot-in-commando
The co-pilot held a valid Public Transport Licence, (No. 318), and had a
t o t a l f l y i n g time of 5594 hours and 9 minutesp of which 63 hours and 4 minutes
had been obtained i n December 1950. During 1950, he had acquired 838 hours and
22 minutes a s F i r s t Officero
Conclusions
Circumstances
The a i r c r a f t engine was dismantled and the left-hand magneto was found t o
be defectiveo The spark plug of No* 2 cylinder, operated by the right-hand
magneto, was found t o be unserviceableD This gave r i s e t o the l o s s of power
and excessive rough-running of the engine which resulted i n the f i r i n g of
unburnt f u e l mixture i n the exhaust manifold,
Conclusions
United UH-12 Helicopter, CF-CKG, took off with p i l o t and one passenger
from Oshawa Airport, Oshawa, Ontario, and while proceeding a t a low a l t i t u d e ,
ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ / 1 5 27
struck two s t e e l telephone wires which were strung between poles hidden from
the p i l o t ' s vision by t r e e s * The wires f i r s t contacted the cyclic control
column and then,be%ng broken, became entangled with the main and t a i l r o t o r
blades rendering the controls of the a i r c r a f t inoperative. The a i r c r a f t swung
t o the r i g h t and, facing the opposite direction, crashed upside down i n a d i t c h
seriously injuring both the p i l o t and passengero
Conclusions
CANADA
Circumstance s
The wind was M.N.W. a t 8 mph. and the a i r c r a f t f i r s t struck the runway
while d r i f t i n g t o port. Corrections with the rudder and steering gear were
made without success; the a i r c r a f t bounced and the p o r t wheel struck the snow
on the south side of the runway. The nose-wheel was torn o f f and the a i r c r a f t
f i n a l l y came t o r e s t t o the l e f t of the runway a t 2309 hours GMT on the main
wheels and the nose, The passengers were uninjured a s were the crew except
f o r one member who received minor scratches and c u t s o
I n v e s t i ~ a t i o nand Evidence
Conclusions
Circumstances
ICAO REF: w 1 3 1
Circumst a m e a
The weather i n the area was bad with large patches of ground fog covering
areas of 4 t o 5 miles and which extended up t o 3,000 t o 4,000 f e e t i n height.
V i s i b i l i t y was 3/4 of a mile a t the most and the temperature was about -50°F.
The l a s t radio contact with the a i r c r a f t was a t 1515 hours EST a t which
time the p i l o t reported t h a t he was about h a l f way between h i s point of departure
and Oskelaneoo
Only the bodies of Gilbert Comtsis and Charlie Neepush were recovered.
The bodies of Eleear Gomtsis and Mrso John C o Meepush a r e s t i l l misaingo
ICAO REF: w 1 3 2
CANADA
Circumstances
The a i r c r a f t was not seen due t o the weather conditions but could be heard
c i r c l i n g the lake where i t crashed between 1100 and 1130 hours CST.
fCPO REF o A R b 1
DENMARK
ICAO REFS
z
lamum
(See Government of India Report i n L i s t bla, 12 hlc 7026, AIG/s~)
Although the Board considered the deoieion t o carry out the landing
unwise, i n view of the foregoing, t h a t decision was not neceseblrily the cause
of the accident, since the p i l o t s t i l l had the p o s s i b i l i t y of breaking off
t h e landing proceduret cl-biag to a safe altitude and clearing all the
t e r r a i n EBE of the aerodrome The Board considers the following f a d s to be
of importance i n considering what happened during the latter stage of the
landing procedureo,
ascertained from the wreokage that, a t the time of the crash, the
anderemiage was still down and t h a t the f l a p s were half down, i,e,
approximately i n the take-off position, It was not possible to aacer-
tain anything definitely from the apparent eetting of the engine con-
-
t r o l s , It appeara like-
normal gradual not rapid - however, that the controls were s e t f o r
climb, According t o one of the experts
who uaa heard a t the investigation i n India, it could be deduced from
the position of the a i r o r a f t and from the probable position i n which
the engines were found, that the r a t e of c l h b =st have bean q p r o x -
iasatsly 200 f e e t per minute* From the difference between the height of
%he point where the crash occurred and the a l t i t u d e at.whieh the air-
c r a f t flew over the asrodrm it follmm t h a t the a i r c r a f t mat have
been d5mbing gradaally when it flew over the aerodrcmwr.
A much greater rate of elironb would have been obtained ff the power
had been increased and the undercarriage mtrwted,
In view of the foregoing, the B o d was of the opiaion that two me-
ccrsaive errors of judgment were colosoittcrd by the pilot, These we= as,
f0 1 1 0 :
~
L2 ICAO Circular 18-Mh.5
On 20 October 1948 a t 2111 hours GMT the Dutch public transport air-
c r a f t registered as PH TEN type Lockheed Constellation, owned by Royal h f c h
Airlines Ltd, took off from Schiphol Airport f o r a f l i g h t t o New Pork during
wfniah an intermediate landing was Ca be made at Prestwick Airport, On board
t h e r e wrre a crew of 10 persons and 30 passengers,
1 0 Circular 18-AN115 43
Probable Cauae
A weather report mads a t 2320 hours GMT, twelve minutes before the
accident, shoved t h a t the weather had deteriorated below the mininaua es4a.b-
lished by gLH f o r a night landing with v i s u a l approach, U n f o ~ % ~ ~ ~t h
~ itse l y
report did not reach the p i l o t o as f t was broadeast a t 2336 W e
ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ ~ / 1 5
SWEDEN
Circumstanee s
-
Probable Cause of the Accident
The accident was due t o the f a c t that the a i r c r a f t during the forced
landing on a s o f t f i e l d bogged and thereby turned over on its backo
caning airborne, it -
The a i r c r a f t took off a t 1240 hours with three passengers and an overload
of 167 lbs, On t a b - o f f the f l i g h t ran 435 paces along the runway before be-
then airbarne for a f'wther 455 paces which brought it
almost t o t h e aerodrome boundary by which time it was about 50 f e e t above the
ground, After crossing the boundary the a i r c r a f t w a s seen t o sink wfth its nose
w e l l up i n t h e a i r , it managed t o clear aone t r e e s but then the starboard wing
dropped and struck the ground. The a i r c r a f t was completely wreckedo The con-
-
ditions prevailing at the time were pressure, 8343 mbso and temperature 75.50Fl
This gave an equivalent density a l t i t u d e of 7,500 f t , and a corresponding de-
meass of 24 per cent i n the engine power available, compared wfth t h e sea l e v e l
power. T h i s coupled with t h e overload resulted fn the a i r c r a f t being unable t o
gain height and i n ultimately stalling.
The accident was not investigated i n s i t u , The weather was good. The
pilot' B t o t a l flying experience was 900 hours of which 110 were on Piper Cub
a i r c r a f t , He had only 9 hours crop dusting low a l t i t u d e flying experience,
ICAO Circular 18-AN/15 49
Probable C a m
The probable cause was error of judgment on the part of the p i l o t when
low flying, Fatigue due t o concentration on low flying for a number of hours
previously during the day was probably contributing, The dust collects i n the
cockpit, and workirng i n t h i s atmosphere for a number of horns might possibly
have affected his vision and judgment,
The accident was not investigated i n s i t u , The weather was good, The
p i l o t gB t o t a l flying experience was 940 hours, of which 280 were on Bonanza
aircraft, The f l i g h t was f o r hire and rewardo
50 ICAO Circular 18-~~/15
The ground surface i s soft a3ad sandy and i s 3,600 ft. A,M,S,L, At
1500 hours it would be very hot. The aircraft was heavily loaded, The prob-
able cause was error of judgment on the part of the pilot in attempting t o
take off under these conditions, He probably attempted to become airborne
too q~icklyb
ICAO Circular 18-Ati/l5 51
Conclusions
UNITED KINGDQM
Circumstances
Circumstances
ICAO REF: ~ ~ / 9 6
UMITJID STATES
"The turn into f i n a l approach was made about 2 miles frcm the end of
t h e runway, Since t h e a i r o r a f t was not l i n e d up with t h e runway a f l a t IS1
turn wsa attempted t o correct t h i s error, During t h i s ' S f h ,the a i r c r a f t
skidded, r e s u l t i n g i n a l o s s of air speed which was augmented bg the f u l l y
ICAO Circular 18-~~/15 57
A t 2058 the f l i g h t received clearance frm the tower and began take-off
using 91 octane f u e l because of f a i l u r e of the l e f t centre f u e l pressure boost
pump, One of the engines was heard t o splutter and backfire and an unusual
amount of torching o r exhaust flame was seen coming from both the engines,
A t a p p r m h a t e l y 3,500 f e e t down the runway, the a i r c r a f t became airborne but
the l e f t engine did not seem t o be developing f u l l power, and the p i l o t there-
f o r e retarded the t h r o t t l e s and the a i r c r a f t s e t t l e d baek on the runway, A t
the time of the accident the green threshold l i g h t s had been moved i n f o r
repair purposes so t h a t the runway was reduced by 1,700 f e e t t o 5,800 f e e t i l a
length, The p i l o t considered t h i s insuffioient apace to accomplish a safs
stop, advanced the t h r o t t l e s t o the l i m i t ~f 52 inches, both engines responded
but the l e f t continued to misfire, and the a i r c r a f t became airborne a t an air
speed of 105 d l e s per hour, The f l f g h t passed the end of the runway at a
height of about 50 f t . above the ground i n a nose-high attitude. However
there waa insufficient altitude to fly over the power l i n e s and poles thus
the a i r c r a f t strnck a 56 f t , pole (2 f e e t f'rcm i t 8 top), 1,500 ft, beyond the
end of the runway, A second and t h i r d pole we- struck, 1,480 f t , and 200 f't.
a f t e r each other, A s a rearrlt the a i r c r a f t rapidly l o s t a l t i t u d e and crashed
i n t o a three-storey house com2ng t o pest i n a single-storey brick dwelling,
Probable Cause
ICAO REF: ~ ~ / 9 9
UKtTED STATES
The Eastern A i r Liners DC-4 Flight 537 was being landed a t Washington
Airport a f t e r a f l i g h t *om Boston and the P-38 waa being t e a t flown i n the
v i u i n i t y of the Washington Airport.
the field, These instructions, although repeated by the tower, were neither
acknowledged nor complied with, Instead, the P-38 8tarted a straight-in
approach on an approxinsQte heading of 20 degrees, The P-38 was f f i n requested
to make a 360-degree turn to the l e f t and to land number two following the
Eastern DC-4 turning on f i n a l approaah be$- him,
Prior t o taking off the p i l o t of the P-38 had notified the control tower
through a second party of his intention t o mke the t e s t f l i g h t and t h a t he
would communicate with the tower control over VHF radio channel "BW on 126.18
megacycles, He s t a t e d he had aeked the second party to also notify the tower
control to signal by l i g h t i f radio contact was not established, The tower
control did not receive t h i s l a a t message and the second party denied hearing
the p i l o t make t h i s second request. During the ground operation and clear-
ance f o r take-off no d i f f i c u l t y w a s experienced i n communications by the
tower control or by the p i l o t i n the P-38, His testimony included the state-
ments t h a t t h i n g manoeuvres shortly d t e r We-off e r r a t i c operation of the,
r i g h t engine occurred and he decided to land as soon as possible, He trans-
mitted a message to the tower s t a t i n g t h a t he had engine trouble and re-
quested landing instruotions, but received no immediate ansfrer, neither did
h e observe any l i g h t signal from the towar* He i s reported t o have s a i d
t h a t shortly afterwards the t o w e r control queried h i s c a l l and gave hlm ine-
tructions as "Bolivian P-38 c;Leared t o land mznber two on runway 3" but he was
not informed t h a t the a i r c r a f t ahead of him was an Eastern DC-4, According t o
the tower control the c6ntFBl;ter instructed the P-38 n t o enter a l e f t t r a f f i c
pattern for runwey 3 and to report when west of the tower on downwind l e e .
When the instruction w a s not coknowledged by the P-38 it was repeated, The
p i l o t of the P-38 s t a t e d t h a t whilst on h i s base l e g he observed a C-60 or
62 ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ / 1 5
C-45 complete i t s landing and turn off the runway, He also stated that a f t e r
completing a l e f t tura frem the base l e g t~ an approach coarse for landing
on runway 3 he transmitted a message t o the eontrob @BolivianP-38 on approar?hw
and received an answer fiom the control tswer *Bolivian P-38 cleared to l a d
on runway 3w, He also heard the tower control say "Clear t o the l e f t , e l e m
t o the l e f t w but he did not know f o r whom it was intended bechnxse no call s.@
was used, Almost immediately afterwards he f e l t the shock of the collision
with the DC-4. The r e p a ~ rsltates
t t h a t the P-38 was never given a clearance to
land number one, The report implies t h a t %he p i l o t of the P-38 reporting what
he considered t o be the number one a i r c r a f t , a C-46 or C-60, land, may have
been c o m s e d by a 33-24 t h a t did make a simdated instrument approach t o
runway 36, Airport obeerV8re arid the tower records did not report a C-46 o r
C-60 landing during t h i e per%&
m e captain of the DC-4 was advised by the tower %hat the F-38 waa in
the t r a f f i c and l a t e r warned t o 1ookauDi f o r it, Eviden$ly tigbe was too short
t o take mccesrsf'ul evasive asction when as he was headed i n f o r the landing
and the final warning was g%wnt o turn let%, wlth the P-38 on the approach
behind, and with r e a r v i s i b i l i t y i n t4e IIC-4 restricted, The forward v i s i -
b i l i t y in the P-38 was also l-ted unless the aeroplane w a s manoekred to
see ahead*
It is stated i n the findinga that the t o w r did not a a t with the reqai-
82% alertness and promptness i n commnnicating to Eastern the position of the
P-38 i n the c r i t i c a l t r a f f i c situation which confronted it, b u t t h i s cannot
be said t o have contributed to the cause of the accident,
Probable Cause
The Board deteraines that the probable cause of t h i s accident was the
execution of a straight-in f i n a l approach by the P-38 p i l o t without obtaining
proper clearance t o lahd and without exercising necessary vigilance,
The navigator drawing tbe courses of the Shannon radio range when an
wAn signal of t h i s radio aid was being received'in the aircraft, erroneously
Labeled the southeast a6eLop of the range Qw instead of the proper desig-
nation *P. Be believed, bebase of the signal, t h a t the f l i g h t had not
passed Shannon,
crew did not confer with one another and they had no agreement nor accurate
kirowledge of route, f u e l hours on board, f u e l requirements, nor duration of
f l l g h t , The weather information obtained was not applicable t o the route
which was aetuaZly flown, and no attempt waer made en route to secure t h i s
information. Accurate hourly positions of the a i r c r a f t were not determined
and plotted. Radio f a c i l i t i e s , i n particular the Shannon radio range, were
not used t o t h e i r best advantage, And, finally, c e l e s t i a l navigation was not
used as a mean8 of ratine position determination though the stars were vis-
i b l e at a l l times,
Probable Cause
UNITED STATES
A t approximately U05 the aircraft took off with two occupants from
East Los h g e l e s A i ~ p o r ten route f o r Oroville, A f l i g h t plan wae f i l e d indi-
cating t h a t the p i l o t would proceed i n acco~dancewith VFRo A t U37 the
66 ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ ~ / 1 5
Probable Cause
-
The probable cause of t h i s accident was loss of control of the a i r c r a f t
by the p i l o t while flying into an overeast,
ICAO REF: A
Rh
O6
XJBITED STATES
The main wreckage was situated 4-3/8 miles north-east of the afrpmt
w h i l s t the l e f t wing outboard from s t a t i o n 252 wgs located 3,8 miles north-
e a s t of the airport, The wing showed that, a f t e r being cut or t ~ r nthrough
the forward section, it had rotated upward and rearward and, as a r e s u l t of
t h i s twisting action, separated from the r&nde~ of the wing, A taper&
a h e l nagpole loca6ed 4,180 f e e t south of the approach end of the rummy d
650 f e e t west of the centre l i n e of t h a t runway and extending to a height of
70 f e e t above ground was dmaaged and bent i n an azimukh of 1 7 degrees,
It waa established that when the a i r c r a f t atruck the pole it was I28
f e e t below Lhe ILS glide path, 650 f e e t west of the centre l i n e of the runwag
and flying a course 17 degrees t o the r i g h t of the mnway heading,
Probable Cause
Circumstances
Probable Cause
UNITED STATES
A t 2337 the Milwaukee Radio advised New Pork tiad Chicago t h a t the f l i g h t
was PO ndmtes over&za. A t approximately 2345 d l the CAB radio stations
t r i e d to contact the f l i g h t on rall frequencies* A t 2358 dl 4.r-sea rescue
f a c i l i t i e s i n the area were alerted, After an extensive searah, an 00slick,
a i r c r a f t debris and the aircraft log book were found approximately 18 m i l e s
north north--west of Benton H a ~ b o u r ,
Impection of the engines disclosed that the port engine ignition showed
rrbnamalities3 six spark plugs were defective, f i v e plugs exceeded the apaci-
f i e d 1Mts when t e s t e d f o r gas leakage, Tlbelaatsode gaps of the 32 plagil
tested varied from 0,014 inches t o 0,023 inches ( w d 0,012 fnches). The
breaker p i n t s of both magnetos were b e d and oily, Both of these magnetos
Toare improperly timed, 'Phe sterrboard engine also had a mmber of ignition
abnormalities bat to a lesser degree than the p a r t engine, !K%e company which
had % b e &era.f% employed two nmahanicos who a l s o assisted i n loading thta
af~craft, Records showed that the a i r c r a f t had flown 92 haups 55 minutes since
the b s f , 80-how inspection and was therefore overdue f o r its next; 80-hour
inspection, No cargo plstnifsst was prepared and subsequent investigation
showed t h a t the a i r c r a f f ww 5,000 Ibs, overloaded,
The r s p o ~ pofnts
t out the e w e l e s s manner i n which the company conducted
its operations and s t a t e s that both t h e company and the p i l o t , as commander
af the aircraft, are t o be severely eenaured f o r permitting the f l i g h t t o
,depart, i n its overloaded condition$ without a f l i g h t manifest and with the
8 0 - h m inspection overdue,
72 I C A a Circular 18-AN/15
UNITED STATES
The owners bseeune coneemed when they had no news of t h e i r aircraft and
on June L$ a conwmmfcations search was instituted when it was revealed t h a t
the f l i g h t plan had never been closed and the a i r c r a f t was unreported since
its last message quoted above,
The report continues ,that on June 18, aince it was apparent t h a t the
a i r c r a f t was missing, search procedure was initiated, The search was unsuc-
cessful and was called off on 28 June, The Hew Tribes Mission, however,
-
ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ / 1 5 73
aantinuad %he air searoh aging a Stinson 1LIr~raf'% and cpn July 6 spotted t h e
wscked & c r a f t near t h e b p of a ntaun%afnat m elevatian of 4,400 f e e t s
qproxlmatrsly 42 Paflea w ~ s *of t h e d f r e c t B n g s t o n ~ l 4 a r a c a i beoarss.
--
UBITED STATES
-__0
Tests were made by the Glenn L. Martin Company t o determine the effec-
tiveness of reverse thrust i n stopping the a i r c r a f t @ The t e s t s showed t h a t
on a level runway and with calm wind conditionra, the a i r c r a f t could be brought
t o a complete stop from a r o l l i n g speed of 80 miles per hour in 1,750 f e e t if
the t h r o t t l e s were placed i n the f i r s t d ~ t e n tof the reverse t h r u s t t h r o t t l e
quadrant, This would be using approximately 750 brake horsepower per engine*
Tests conducted by the Martin Company Further showed that a t high speeds
reverse t h r u s t was as effective as wheel b r a h e i n reducing the speed of an
aircraft, but t h a t a t low speeds wheel brakea -re ameb more effective,
Tests were also conducted by Northvest Airlines a t the time the reverse
thrust feature was added t o the 202%, It was found t h a t the airplanes could
be brought t o a f u l l stop without brakes by use of reverse thrust, These
t e s t s were conducted on a l e v e l r u n w a y at the ~ e a p o l i and
r $t,Paul airports,
Probable Cause
-Circumstances
Aircraft N-2427E was being used t o practice "SN turns a t 500 f e e t
within the l o c a l practice area of Sharon Springs Airport, Aircraft N-1086H
was apparently being used f o r pleasure.
--- - Cause
Probable
-
UNITED STATES
-
The a i r c r a f t departed froxa Minneapolis St, Paul International Airport
i n c l e a r weather and unlZBljlted v i s i b i l i t y f o r purposes of a P i l o t Six Months
InstPrrPaent Competency Check, The &craft was properly loaded well within
its allowable l i m i t and there were six ocortpants, B e p i l o t Mae presumed to
be flying the a i r c r a f t under t h e hood,
Investigation
Findings
Probable Caue
ICAO REF:
-..9-
A.Eih.33
UNITED STATES
Aircraft N-1036V arrived i n the London Area on 2 January and was diverted
t o Hurn, due t o the London weather being below the minima. A landing a t Hnrn
uas lllade a t 0923 h m a , and at 1100 Emrs the weather a t London being still
below minima, the decision was t&n;to send the passengers on t o London by
train, and to f e r r y the a i r c r a f t t o Heathrow Airport the n d morning t o cover
t h e re- f l i g h t la the United States,
A t 0850 hours a normal landing was commenced on rtanway 28, during the
landing r o l l , howeverp the r i g h t main landing gear retracted permitting the
plane t o s e t t l e down on the No, 3 and No, 4 engine nacelles and the r i g h t
wing, I n this position it skidded t o a stop, p a r t l y off the runway after
turrsing approx5mately %loo t o the right, There was no -violent,deceleration
and only a s l i g h t change of direction down the m w a y , The crew of nine
uninjured,
Investigation
Due t o the known condition of the runways it had been previously decided
t o use 300 f l a p on l a d i n g t o prevent, insofar as possible, damage t o t h e
flaps, by snow and i c e being thrown against them during t h e landing r o l l *
Exadnation of the r i g h t Bzain landing ,par and all its components was
-8, followed by operational and f'unational t e s t a , No mechanical o r elec-
t r i a d f a i l u r e of t h e gear o r gear control system was found and all t e s t s
inclieated n o d operation,
Each landing gear oleo strut is equipped with two micro-switches which
are actuated when the landing gear wheel i s grounded firmly enough to compress
the s t r u t approximately one-half inch of its travel, These svitches a r e par*
of two e n t i r e l y separate s a f e t y system, t h e purpose of one being t o prevent
the t h r o t t l e s being mved into the reverse t h r u s t position before the a i r c r a f t
i s grounded, and the purpose of the other t o prevent an extended landing gear
from being retracted after it is firaraly grounded even though t h e landing gear
control switch is placed i n the gear @upaposition,
Probable C a s e
AUSTRALIA
-
A i r Navigation Regulations, 1947, S,R, No. 112
Bir
Part XVI, ( ~ e g u l a t i o n smade under the
Navigatf on Act 1920-1947. )
BOLIVIA
junio 18
( ~ o l e t f nOficial) (~h. -
Procedimiento para e l informe de accidentes
2 Sec, OP-loo).
Nw, 1
-
A i r Navigation (Investigation of ~ c c i d e n t)s
Regulations, 193'7, Sec, 6 Preliminary
investigation of accidents. (Made under
Sec, 12 of the U,K, Air Navigation Act, 1920,
a s modified and extended t o Ceylon by the
Colonial Air Navigation ( ~ p p l i c a t i o nof ~ c t s )
order, 1939. )
CHINA
91__
COSTA RIGA
FRANCE
DQcret r e l a t i f i l a ddolaration des accidents
d laviation, (Bulletin de Renseignements
CINA 7@/3).
I C Circular
~ '18-~/15 89
(Me
-
Decreto Nth. 563: Ley de Aviacidn Civil,
Capitulo X De &a siniestroe aeruduticos,
U6-U1) 0
u3Q marzo 14
-
Decr6to N&n. 121s Ley de Aero&utica:
Cap, IV, Sea, Cuarfa Accidentes y
Fhergencias (Art, 'Xl-88),
19
-
The &dian Aircraft Act, 1934, (corrected up
t o 1949) Sec, 7% Powers of Governor
General i n Council t o make rules f o r
investigation of accidents,
a March 23
-
The Indian Aircraft Rules, 1937 (as corrected
up t o 1949 P a r t X8 Imeatigation of
Accidents ( A r t , 68-77).
IRELAND (Contd, 1
-
ASr Navigation Regulations (Investigation.
of accidents) (Amendment 1933 lo. 288
t o Regulation No, 21 of 1928).
-
-
ITALY
ITETHERLANDS
NEW zEaLAND
z%!2 July 1
t o 1950. Arts* 35 t o 4.4
accident so
-
A i r Navigation Regulations, 1933, as amended
Investigation of
MORWAY
Dec. 7
-
Civil Aeronautics Act, as amended c p t o
March ll, 1949 Chapter 11, Par* 46.
-
Royal Resolution Regulations on 'a.vLation
enacted by the Department of Defence,
15 October 1932 and 11December 1936, i n
accordance with the C i v i l Aeronautf cs Act
of 7 December 1923 and the Royal Resolution
-
of 22 April 1932 as amended up t o 1947*
VIII Aircraft Accidents-
PAKISTAM
xi!z March 23
by Pakistan and amended up t o 1949)
Part X .o Invegtf g a t i ~ nof accidents*
-
The Indian A f r c r a f t Rules? 1937 ( as adopted
ICAO Circular 18-AN/l5
April 20 -
A i r Navigation Law F i r s t Part, T i t l e I
Chap, IIo Articles 22-26,
-
June 5 R&glleanentdrexdcution de l a l o i sur l a
navigation adrfeme (entrde en vigueur
le 15 jufn 1958)t
XIPI. Accidents d d r o n e f s ( A r t s . 129-137).
(bg, 29,l -
Chap, 2qe Investigation of AccTdents
29,7),*
UNJJ'ED KINGDOM
* The C i v i l Aviation Act, 1949 (12 & U Geo. 6. Ch. 671, repeals ths " A j x
-
Navigation Act, 1920," Part 11, Section 12 of the 1920 Act is replacad
-
by: Part 11 Section 10 Investigation of Accidents, C i v i l Aviation
Act# 19496
94 ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ ~ / 1 5
Section 12 of the A i r Navigation Actp 1920 (as amended by the Air Plavuation
Act, 1935) applies t o the underantfoned Colonies by virtue of "The Colonial
Air Navigation ( ~ p p l i c a t i o nof ~ c t s )Order, 1937' 1*
Aden (Colony and ~ m t e c t o r a t e )
Baharaas
Barbados
BasutgPanii
Bechuanaland Pro%eetxra%e
Bemda
British Gui-
British Honduras
British Solomon Islands Protectorate
C g ~ w
FaUcEand Islands and Dependencfes
Fiji
Gambia (Coloqy and Fkotectorate
Gibraltar
Gold Coast -
Gilbert aad Elllice Islands Colony
e010w
ba{ Ashant5
c ) Northern Territories
d ) T o g o h d under British Mandate.
Hong b wz
Jamaica (including Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman ~ s l a n d s )
lZenya (Colony a d P r o t e c h r a t e )
Leeward Islands
wi
g us
Montserrat
St, Christopher a d N a s
Virgin Islands.
Malta
Mauritius
Nigeria
a) Colony
b) Protectorate
c ) Cameroons under British Mandate
* The Civil Aviation Act, 19/69 (12 & U Geo, 6, Ch, 67), the t e x t of which
-
Section 12 of the 1920 A c t is replaced byr Part I1 Section 10
Investigation of Accidents, Civil Aviation Act, 1949.
-
has just been received, repeals the nAir Navigation Actp 1920.w Part 11,
ICAO Circular 18-AN/15 95
BRITISH GKtAlU
GOID COBST
Feb, 17 Aircraft (Accident ) Regulations, No, 5 of 1937.
ZEEWPA
June 22 ) Regulations,
Air Navigation (~ccident
96 ICAO Circular 18-AN/~S
NICE-
SIERRA LEONE
,uz Jw~e 19 Afrcraf t (Accident) Rules (80, 17/1938),
TRINIDAD .
U P .Oct, 26 A i r Wavigation (Investigation of Aecf dents)
Regulations 1940 (revoking Air Navigation
,
Regulat iom (Aecf dent s ) 1931) as amended
on 16 August 19@, Go No 139/48,
Navhgatf on (Investigation of Accf dents)
(Amendment) Regulations 1948 (G,N, No. 13/48).
-
C i v i l Aeronautics Board: Organizational
Regulations P a r t 302 Description of
h;mctionst Course and Method bg which
functions are channeled: Scope a d
contents of documents8
Part 302.l.b) (4);
Part 302.2. Functions of Offices and
Bureawgt
(d) (2) The Accident Investigation
Ilivision
(3) The Accident Analysis
Division.
-
C i v i l Air Regulations Part 62. Notice
and Rapprta of Aircraft Accidents an3
missing -crafto
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
ICAO Circular 1 8 - ~ ~ / 1 5 99
PART I11
ACCIDENT STATISTICS
A m m e y sf Accfdenta t c A%r~rehft
~ 0% the lJni%ed Kingdom i n the year
ended 3Ps$ h c a b m 89L,.9, Minis* of Civff AvSation 89, H i s & j e s t y o s
Stationery Off%se, h n d s a 1950,
Ron-Air Carrier kebfden% !hend Repor% (2nd Qne Thousand 1950), Civil
Aeronautics Board, WwMng%on 25, DOC, Issued Septanber 1950,
RESEARCH
AUSTRALIA
NEWZEALAND A
UNITED KINGDOM
-
Accident Prevention Bulletins 1950 Series 18 28, 1951 Series 1 12 -
.
D i s t r i h t e d by the Flight Safety Foundation, 2 East 64th Street, Hew Pork 21,
IeY
Special Aircraft Accident Bulletins 1950 Series 7
1 and 2. Special Airport F i r e Bulletin, 1950 Series 10 -- 13., 1951 Series
Conunittee on Aviation and Airport F i r e Protection, National F i r e Pro-
tection Association, International 60, Batter~nnarshStreet, Boston 10, Mass,
Safety Bulletin No, 185-51, h e 1 Exhaustion i n Flight; by Harold B, C a r r .
Civil Aeronautics B o t ~ d , Bureau of Safety Investigation,
Aviation Safety Release No, 337* P i l o t S t a t i c Systems, C i v i l Bsro-
nautics Administration, Aviation Pnf'ormatfon Office, Washington, D.C.
ICAO C ir c u l a r 1 8 - ~ , / 1 5 103
F O W - U P ACTION
a) Improvement of c r a s h worthiness.
ACCIDENT CAUSES
a t t a c h f i g t o p ~ e s s u y i z a t i o nf a i l u r e a t high a l t i t u d e s , t h i s a f f o r d s l i t t l e
ermelissatiw, and t h e obvious answer i s t h a t transparencies i n the cabin6 and
f l i g h t deck $n high-flying pressurized a i r c r a f t must be designed and conartructed
t o a allfficffsptly high standard a s t o afford no r i s k of f a i l u r e ; i f we a r e going
t o bave s a f e t y i n t h i s regard we have t o have standards sWbr t o those we apply
t p the r a g t of t h e structure. The man vho preaahed t h e provision of parachutes
because s wing might f a l l off would get s h o r t shwt!
suddenly released and the pressure i n the t i r e propelled the rim and tyre off
with s u f f i c i e n t force t o injure seriously one mechanic and throw the second
mechanic over 60 feet, breaking nost of his bones and blowing h i s head W s t
off.
Moral,- I f a device does not work smoothly, find out nwhy" before
f o r c i e .
Same p i l o t s have found a new use f o r telephone address books (the kind
where the cover springs up t o the pre-selected l e t t e r when a t a b i s pressed).
On the @overi n place of the index l e t t e r s , they paste the l i s t of emergencies
t h a t c a l l f o r immediate action but require a check list t o be certain that
no step i s overlooked,
After t a k e - ~ f f ship went into abnormal climb and control oolmm could
not be pushed forward, Hose dropped and control colnman became f r e e then
power was reduced, Down elevator control cable had been cmght i n threaded
end of a b o l t in the control system,
Note
-0
- -
Water may enter though C02 discharge nozzles moisture laden
a9r flowing by the nozzles could do this, This a i r flow may conre from out-
side or be c a s e d bg. d i f f e r e n t i a l air pressures within the aeroplane,
especially pressurized aeroplanes,
.
(hazardous cargo leaking) and aechanfcal trouble (leaking fuel,
hydraulic f l u ids, ete, )
ll,~PtEXIGLASS TOPIC
- END -