Flight | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

An engine exploded in flight, forcing the crew to reduce his altitude and to attempt an emergency landing. The airplane crashed in flames in a field located in Krusendorf and was destroyed by fire. All occupants escaped uninjured.

Probable cause:

Engine explosion in flight.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Enken: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 5, 1960 at 1614 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-84609

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Nikolayevsk-on-Amur – Okhotsk – Magadan

MSN:

60 02

YOM:

1949

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

10291

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a positioning flight from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur to Magadan with an intermediate stop at Okhotsk. En route, pilots encountered poor weather conditions with turbulences and heavy icing conditions. The airplane lost altitude and eventually dove into the ground before crashing in flames at an altitude of 900 meters on the slope of Mt Dzhugdzhur (1,207 meters high) located in the region of Enken. The burned wreckage was found five days later and all five crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were bad with low visibility, snow falls, severe icing conditions, turbulences, wind from 140° at 100 km/h and an OAT of -18°.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the loss of control was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on wings, stabs and tail combined to the extreme poor weather conditions. It was considered that the informations transmitted to the crew related to weather were incomplete and did not reflect the truth. Also, ATC assistance was considered as inefficient.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.60 Moth near Home Hill

Date & Time: May 1, 1960

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.60 Moth

Operator:

Registration:

VH-UGN

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Home Hill - Home Hill

MSN:

411

YOM:

1927

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane crash in unknown circumstances near the Burdekin River in Home Hill. The sole occupant was unhurt while the aircraft owned by Paddy F. Nielsen was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Scottish Twin Pioneer CC.1 in Kota Tinggi

Date & Time: Apr 19, 1960

Type of aircraft:

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer

Operator:

Registration:

XL967

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

518

YOM:

1958

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Suffered a dual engine failure in flight while cruising over the region of Kota Tinggi, south Johor. The crew attempted an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Double engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Douglas VC-47D near Marburg

Date & Time: Apr 15, 1960

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-49271

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

15087/26532

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances 11 km southeast of Marburg while on a flight to Wiesbaden-Erbenheim AFB. The crew fate remains unknown.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 in San Juan

Date & Time: Apr 6, 1960

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.104 Dove

Operator:

Servicio Especializado de Carga Aérea - SECA

Registration:

LV-YAU

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

04192

YOM:

1948

Location:

San Juan

Country:

Argentina

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances in San Juan while performing a cargo flight. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was written off.

Crash of a Boeing KC-97F-17-BO Stratotanker off Florida: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1960 at 2015 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker

Operator:

Registration:

51-0363

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Stephenville - McDill

MSN:

16430

YOM:

1951

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On a flight from Stephenville to McDill AFB in Tampa, while cruising along the Florida coast, the crew encountered heavy winds and was forced to ditch the aircraft in rough seas about 43 miles off Cape Canaveral. Two crew members were killed and 12 others were rescued.

Crash of a Lockheed 18 LodeStar in Azul

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1960

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed 18 LodeStar

Operator:

Líneas Aéreas de Cuyo

Registration:

LV-GMF

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

2545

YOM:

1943

Location:

Azul

Buenos Aires province

Country:

Argentina

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing in Azul for undetermined reason. The airplane belly landed in a field and came to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-45-DK near Chimbote: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1960

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

OB-PAM-146

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Picota – Trujillo

MSN:

16947/34206

YOM:

1945

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While cruising in poor weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the region of Chimbote. The wreckage was found three days later and all four crew members have been killed.

Crash of a Lockheed L-188C Electra near Tell City: 63 killed

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1960 at 1525 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed L-188 Electra

Operator:

Registration:

N121US

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Minneapolis – Chicago – Miami

MSN:

1057

YOM:

1959

Flight number:

NW710

Location:

Tell City

Indiana

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

27523

Captain / Total hours on type:

254.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2974

Copilot / Total hours on type:

200

Aircraft flight hours:

1786

Circumstances:

The four engine aircraft departed Chicago-Midway at 1438LT bound for Miami, carrying 57 passengers and a crew of six. While cruising at an altitude of 18,000 feet over the south of Indiana State, the aircraft entered a dive and crashed in a huge explosion in a snow covered field located east of Tell City. Some debris were also found in a wooded area. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 63 occupants were killed. The crew was unable to send any distress call prior to the accident.

Probable cause:

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the separation of the right wing in flight due to flutter induced by oscillations of the outboard nacelles. Contributing factors were a reduced stiffness of the structure and the entry of the aircraft into an area of severe clear air turbulence.

Final Report: