Continental Airlines Flight 11

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Continental Airlines Flight 11
Boeing 707-124 (Continental Airlines) LAX.jpg

Identical aircraft from Continental Airlines
Accident summary
Accident type Bomb attack
place 6 miles northwest of Unionville , Missouri , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
date May 22, 1962
Fatalities 45
Survivors 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 707-124
operator Continental Airlines
Mark N70775
Departure airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Stopover Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Destination airport Los Angeles International Airport , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Passengers 37
crew 8th
Lists of aviation accidents

On May 22, 1962 was Boeing 707 of Continental Airlines on Continental Airlines Flight 11 near Unionville , Missouri , by the ignition of an explosive device to crash. The machine was on a domestic scheduled flight from Chicago via Kansas City to Los Angeles . All 45 occupants of the aircraft died. The main suspect was Thomas G. Doty, who was a passenger. The likely motive for the crime was attempted insurance fraud .

plane

The plane was a nearly three-year-old Boeing 707-124 ( Air vehicle registration number : N70775, work number : 17611), which completed on 16 June 1959 and four Turbojettriebwerken type Pratt & Whitney JT3C-6 was driven.

On August 3, 1961, this aircraft was involved in a criminal incident on Continental Airlines Flight 54 when two men tried to hijack the aircraft to Havana . After being held hostage for hours, police shot the plane's tires to prevent take-off and arrested the kidnappers.

By May 22, 1962, the Boeing had flown 11,945 hours. The last regular inspection of the aircraft took place 183 hours (about a week) before the accident.

crew

The crew consisted of the following people:

  • Flight Captain Fred. R. Gray (50). He had a type rating for the DC-3 , DC-6 , DC-7B , the Vickers Viscount , the Convair CV-240 , CV-340 and the CV-440 until he qualified for the Type 707 on April 26, 1959 received. He passed his last aptitude test on April 26, 1962. He had a flight experience of 25,000 hours, 2,600 of which in the Type 707 alone.
  • First Officer Edward J. Sullivan, 41. He had a type rating for the DC-3 and the Vickers Viscount. He received the qualification for the Type 707 on September 16, 1961 and had the last proficiency test on the same day. He had a flying experience of 14,500 hours, 600 of them with the Type 707.
  • Flight engineer Roger. D. Allen (32). He was qualified both as a flight engineer and as a pilot, especially for instrument flight . He passed his qualification for the Type 707 in June 1960 and the last test on March 27, 1962.
  • the flight attendants Marilyn Bloomquist (24), Mary McGrath (20), Martha Rush (23) and Stella Berry (21) and the purser David E. Olssen (39)

Weather and flight planning

The forecasts by the National Weather Service indicated severe weather from a cold and storm front between Chicago and Kansas City. The planned route of flight CO11 passed through an area for which a weather warning was issued, warning of storms with a maximum altitude of 50,000 ft (15,000 m) along with severe to extreme turbulence and possible tornadoes . Therefore, Captain Gray had the cruise altitude proposed by the dispatcher changed from 28,000 ft (approx. 8,530 m) to 39,000 ft (approx. 11,900 m ).

course

All times are given in CST .

The Boeing 707 reached Chicago on the day of the accident when Continental Airlines Flight 10 was coming from Los Angeles, landed at 7:00 p.m. and was inspected and serviced before the scheduled Flight 11. The flight crew landed at 7:13 p.m. in a Boeing 720 on Continental Airlines Flight 4, also coming from Los Angeles.

Both takeoff weight and center of gravity were normal when the aircraft took off at 20:35. The pilots were directed to Bradford , Illinois by departure control and reported flying over Bradford on Jet Route 26 Victor at 39,000 ft (11,900 m) altitude at 8:52 p.m. A radar image of the storm front in front of them, which was requested from the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center shortly afterwards at 9:01 p.m. , was not available there, whereupon the communication was passed on to the Flight Following Radar Site in Waverly , Iowa . There the pilots asked at 9:02 p.m. how they could avoid the storm. The air traffic controller recommended turning south. A little later there was the option of alternating northward, which they asked for. After the storm had flown around, the air traffic controller informed them that from their position on a direct course over Kirksville they could avoid further bad weather. The pilots replied that they were already turning and asked for a direct course to Kansas City. The air traffic controller confirmed this and reported that clearance to descend was being processed. During the next few minutes, the air traffic controller tried unsuccessfully to contact the Kansas City Center and passed this on to the pilots, who replied: "Okay, we can probably reach them on your radio, do you want to send us over?" Ok, we can probably reach them over your radio , do you want to send us over? "). That was the last radio contact with the pilots at around 9:14 p.m.

In the next minute, the air traffic controller in Waverly was able to establish radio contact with the center in Kansas City, but not with the pilots, and transmitted the information via the 707. The controller in Kansas City said he had detected a signal on his radar screen that was approximately was where the Boeing was expected but disappeared after 2 to 3 updates.

The next morning after sunrise, the wreckage of the plane was found by local residents, 10 kilometers north-northwest of Unionville , Missouri, on a 10-degree slope overgrown with alfalfa . The 27-year-old Japanese engineer Takehiko Nakano, who lived in Evanston , Illinois , was the only one found alive. It was sprawled across a row of seats and the seat frames had apparently absorbed most of the impact energy. He was in shock and was admitted to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (now Mercy Medical Center) in Centerville , Iowa . Nakano gave some personal information to the nurses there and said he was thirsty. Doctors described his injuries as relatively minor; he had a ruptured vein and would likely have survived if treated earlier. Nakano died of internal injuries that morning, an hour and a half after he was supposedly rescued.

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigation of the crash

In addition to the crew, there were 37 passengers on board, most of them business travelers, who flew on the plane that was about a third full that day.

Several witnesses in the vicinity of the accident site said they heard loud and unusual noises; two witnesses claimed to have seen lightning or a fireball of short duration in the sky. They all estimated the time between 9:10 pm and 9:30 pm and reported that the weather was clear. The captain of a Boeing B-47 that was flying north to 26,500 ft (approx. 7,900 m) near Kirksville at the time of the accident reported that he had seen lightning up ahead of him, roughly where the Boeing came to the last Times was visible on the radar and estimated the time at 9:22 pm. He also confirmed that there was little or no turbulence.

The data from the retrieved flight data recorder matched those reported by the pilots from take-off until 42 minutes later, and showed that the aircraft had last been in greater turbulence at 9:11 p.m., then gradually on course 240 over the next two minutes ° and then flew at 21:15 in the descent went and consistently 1,000 ft / min (300 m / min) decreased. Then changed at 21:17 at an altitude of 36,800 ft (11,200 m), the data and the aircraft rapidly struck without the rear of the fuselage 38 ft (11.5 m - in this body portion in particular the toilets are installed) with the aircraft nose inclined downwards by 20 ° and with almost no cross slope . The right wing remained almost intact during the crash and the left partially intact.

In addition, the landing flaps were retracted , but the landing gear was extended and locked. Since no grinding marks were found on the ground, it can be assumed that the aircraft hardly had any horizontal speed. Two clocks on the plane indicated a time of 21:21:15 and 21:21:45. The engines had hit the ground in an area about 1,200 m long and 800 m wide. The engine closest to the point of impact was about 2 kilometers southwest of it. They all showed signs of an almost vertical fall and that the runners hardly or not at all turned on the serve .

In addition to Nakano, who died in the hospital, 36 dead were found in the main wreck and 8 outside between 0.5 and 3.2 kilometers away. They showed no signs of burns or ingested toxic substances. In addition, both the captain, the first officer and the flight engineer were in their normal positions in the cockpit , wearing their oxygen masks .

Four other large parts of the aircraft were also found along the flight path:

  • Approximately 6.5 kilometers from the point of impact: A 29 ft (8.83 m) long piece of the left wing
  • about 10.5 kilometers northeast of the point of impact the outer left wing with its tip
  • about 800 meters north of the large wing part in a hay field the horizontal stabilizer with parts of the elevator
  • about 10 kilometers north-east of the point of impact in a dense forest the vertical stabilizer together with the rudder on a part of the fuselage that also contained a toilet . The parts also showed traces of an almost vertical fall and traces of blood and human tissue . Traces of puncture and abrasion were found on the vertical stabilizer, as well as on the horizontal stabilizer.

In total, debris was found around 65 kilometers away, and lighter objects such as pillows even over 190 kilometers from the scene of the accident. There were no signs of fatigue are detected, a system failure, a fire in flight or a collision with an aircraft or other object, but the aircraft appeared to be broken apart at high altitude.

When the wreck was put together, it was found that the closer it was to a point in the rear right toilet, the closer the wreckage got, where the outer skin was apparently pushed directly outwards by a large, explosive force. This point has been delineated in the trash can under the sink of the rear right toilet. From this point the force spread in all directions. The FBI was later able to confirm this suspicion and prove that the explosive used was dynamite .

Conclusions of the Civil Aeronautics Board

The Civil Aeronautics Board investigators who were conducting the investigation with the FBI issued their report on August 1, 1962. From the traces found, they concluded that during this accident neither the weather, contrary to what was speculated at the beginning, nor poor maintenance or the pilots were factors and the aircraft was airworthy at take-off. Instead, the evidence and the damage pattern indicated that near Kirksville at 9:17 p.m. on the day of the accident, an explosive device exploded in the garbage can of the right rear toilet intended to destroy the aircraft. The explosion tore open the fuselage, causing a pressure drop in the aircraft and creating thick fog inside the aircraft. Therefore the pilots initiated the emergency descent procedure , put on their oxygen masks and extended the landing gear . The emergency checklist was found between the master's control horn and the instrument panel. When the entire tail finally broke off, the aircraft nose lowered and shortly afterwards the engines broke off in flight.

Further investigation by the FBI

After it was established that a crime had occurred, the FBI continued investigating the perpetrator after the CAB report was released. They found out that a certain Thomas G. Doty, 34, from Texas and his business partner Geneva Fraley had taken out life insurance before departure, which was not uncommon at the time. The sum insured would be paid out in the event of an accident or death on a flight. Life insurances were disproportionately high; Fraley paid $  75,000, Doty even $ 150,000 (plus an additional $ 150,000 due to additional insurance, partly taken out at the airport). Doty entered his pregnant wife († 2008) as a beneficiary , with whom he had a five-year-old daughter.

Doty was a businessman whose ceramic coffin business went bankrupt in 1961. He gave up his job as a salesman for a cosmetics company in March 1962 because he wanted to start a new company with his colleague Fraley. The following month he was linked to an armed robbery of a woman in Kansas City. Police said he hit the woman and escaped with her wallet. Doty claimed he found the wallet while walking. He was due to appear in court on May 25, 1962 on charges of first-degree robbery with a hidden weapon. Instead of following the load, Doty bought six sticks of dynamite and tried to defraud the insurance company with his attack.

Commemoration

Plaque in Unionville with the names of the dead

Several decades later, the local historian Duane Crawford († 2017) dealt with the accident and tried to remember the incident, which had been forgotten. In 2010 a memorial plaque was erected with all the names of the dead. More than 100 people attended the 50th anniversary commemoration on May 26, 2012, including relatives of the victims.

media

The first episode of season 3 called Incredible Causes of the British television series Air Crash Confidential deals with the circumstances of the accident.

Sources and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brendan I. Koerner: Leon and Cody Bearden hijacked a plane because they were "just fed up" with being Americans. In: Slate . June 10, 2013, accessed on April 28, 2019 (English, description of the kidnapping). Sam Gnerre: Former Torrance man becomes first person imprisoned for airplane hijacking. In: blogs.dailybreeze.com. February 1, 2014, accessed April 28, 2019 (English, description of the kidnapping).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Continental Air Lines, Inc., Boeing 707-124, N70775, Near Unionville, Missouri, May 22, 1962. (pdf, 533 kB) Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), August 1 1962, accessed on June 19, 2019 (English, accident report).
  3. ↑ Ken Dornstein: The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky. Vintage Books, 2006, ISBN 978-0-375-70769-8 , accessed April 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ a b Jonathan Bender: Fifty years ago this week, Continental Flight 11 fell out of the sky over Unionville. In: thepitchkc.com. May 22, 2012, accessed April 22, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Thomas Gene Doty. In: Find a Grave . May 11, 2013, accessed April 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report Aircraft accident Boeing 707-124 N70775 Unionville, MO in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on June 19, 2019.
  7. ↑ Jonathan Bender: Fifty years ago this week, Continental Flight 11 fell out of the sky over Unionville. In: The Pitch. May 22, 2012, accessed June 19, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Passengers were mostly businessmen plus one bomber. In: ABC May 7, 24, 2010, accessed on April 28, 2019 .
  9. ^ Duane Elmer Crawford of Unionville, Missouri 1935--2017: Obituary. In: davisplaylehudsonrimer.com. January 15, 2017, accessed April 28, 2019 .
  10. ^ Alan Scher Zagier: Unionville, Mo., recalls first bombing of commercial jet in the US In: The Kansas City Star . June 23, 2012, accessed April 28, 2019 .
  11. ^ Continental Airlines Flight 11. In: Facebook account. Accessed April 28, 2019 .