Scheduled Revenue Flight

Shortly after takeoff from Nassau-Oakes Field Airport, while climbing, the right engine caught fire. The crew informed ATC about his situation and received the permission to return for an emergency landing. For unknown reason, the crew was unable to extinguish the fire and started the approach with the right engine still on fire. On final, smoke spread in the cockpit and just after touchdown on runway 27, the right engine detached and struck the right main gear that was sheared off. Out of control, the airplane veered off runway and eventually came to rest in flames 300 meters farther. There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off.

En route from Cairo to Khartoum at an altitude of 20,500 feet, a loss of hydraulic pressure occurred. The crew continued the flight and started the descent to Khartoum. While completing the approach checklist, the crew was unable to lower the landing gear, even with the emergency systems. The captain decided to complete a belly landing on the sandy area alongside the runway. The airplane slid for hundreds yards before coming to rest. All 27 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The four engine aircraft departed Madrid-Barajas at 1542LT and following an uneventful flight, the crew started the descent to Barcelona-El Prat de Llobregat Airport. On short final, the pilot-in-command did not realize his altitude was insufficient when the main landing gear struck a small earth mound located 34 meters short of runway threshold. Upon impact, the undercarriage were sheared off, the airplane nosed down and struck the runway surface. It skidded for about 170 meters then veered off runway and came to rest in flames. While all 71 occupants evacuated safely (three of them were injured), the aircraft was destroyed by fire. The airplane was leased from Trans World Airlines.

While approaching Quito-Mariscal Sucre Airport in marginal weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located 16 km from the airfield. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 37 occupants were killed.

On October 28, 1960, at 1139 m. s. t., a Douglas C-54A-DC, N 48762, operated by Northwest Airlines, Inc., as Flight 104, crashed and burned approximately 13 nautical miles northwest of the Missoula, Montana Airport. The captain, first officer, two hostesses and all eight passengers died in the crash. The flight took off from Spokane, Washington, on an instrument flight plan. En route radio reports were routine and indicated the flight was on schedule, and in no difficulty. The aircraft was observed from the ground flying on course toward Missoula in and along the Clark Fork Valley within six nautical miles west of the scene of the crash. The engines were running and the aircraft was descending as if on an approach to a landing. As the aircraft descended deeper into the valley, flight visibility became restricted by light snow showers, and the tops of the mountains surrounding the valley were obscured by the overcast. The aircraft entered a steep left banking turn and the nose was raised in an apparent attempt to turn and climb out through an intersecting valley; however, the aircraft continued to sink toward the ground, rolled to the left and crashed inverted. The Board believes the accident was caused by the failure of the pilot to continue in accordance with his IFR flight plan by attempting a VFR approach during instrument weather conditions.
Crew:
James R. Perkins, pilot,
Joseph A. Denton,
Robert Leonard,
Marie Defreese.

On the leg from Omsk to Irkutsk, at a distance of 160 km from the destination, the crew was informed about the deterioration of the weather conditions at Irkutsk Airport and was then diverted to Ust-Orda Airport. At this time, weather at Ust-Orda was as follow: cloud base at 250 meters, snow falls and a visibility of 3 km. On approach by night, the nose gear light was unserviceable so the captain decided to make a go around. For unknown reason, this procedure was delayed and he completed a low pass over the runway for about two km before making a turn to the left at a height of 10-15 meters when the airplane struck power cables. The aircraft stalled and crashed in flames on a hilly terrain near the airport. 46 passengers were uninjured while 19 occupants were injured. Three crew members were killed, the navigator, the radio operator and the mechanic. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

While flying in marginal weather conditions between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ligurian Sea, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of Mt Capanne located in the west part of Elbe Island, at an altitude of 728 meters. The aircraft was destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor due to clouds and the crew was unable to distinguish the mountain.
Crew:
Ennio Scipione, pilot,
Francesco Cossu, copilot,
Giovanna Pertusio, stewardess,
Grazia Candeloro, stewardess.
Passengers:
Giorgio Bracci,
Ernesto Cuomo Ulloa,
Maria Pia Dalmau,
Adelaide Rocca Dalmau,
Elio Perugi,
Silvio Sciunnach,
Naomichi Takashima.

Crashed in unknown circumstances at Mironeasa. The airplane was damaged beyond repair but there were no injuries.

On approach to Gbadolite Airport, a fuel exhaustion forced the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. The twin engine aircraft crash landed in Molegbe, about 7 km west of the airport and came to rest. All six occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On October 4, 1960, at 1740 e.d.t., an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Electra, N 5533, crashed into Winthrop Bay immediately following takeoff from runway 9 at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts. Ten of the 72 persons aboard survived the crash. The aircraft was totally destroyed. A few seconds after becoming airborne, the aircraft struck a flock of starlings. A number of these birds were ingested In engines Nos. 1, 2, and 4. Engine No. 1 was shut down and its propeller was feathered. Nos. 2 and 4 experienced a substantial momentary loss of power. This abrupt and intermittent loss and recovery of power resulted in the aircraft yawing to the left and decelerating to the stall speed. As speed decayed during the continued yaw and skidding left turn, the stall speed was reached; the left wing dropped, the nose pitched up, and the aircraft rolled left into a spin and fell almost vertically into the water. An altitude of less than 150 feet precluded recovery. The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the unique and critical sequence of the loss and recovery of engine power following bird ingestion, resulting in loss of airspeed and control during takeoff.