A Douglas DC-6 aircraft accident in Guatemala City in 1978
| A Douglas DC-6 aircraft accident in Guatemala City in 1978 | |
|---|---|
 A Douglas DC-6 from Aviateca |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Loss of control through shifting the center of gravity |
| place |
Guatemala City , Guatemala
|
| date | June 8, 1978 |
| Fatalities | 3 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 Douglas DC-6B
|
| operator |
Aviateca
|
| Mark |
TG-ADA
|
| Departure airport |
Miami International Airport , Florida , United States
|
| Destination airport |
La Aurora Airport , Guatemala City , Guatemala
|
| Passengers | 0 |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The flight accident of a Douglas DC-6 in Guatemala City in 1978 occurred on June 8, 1978. A Douglas DC-6B of the airline Aviateca with three crew members on board, with which an animal transport was flown from Miami to Guatemala City, ran into this Day out of control on the approach for landing and crashed onto a soccer field in downtown Guatemala City . The three crew members were killed in the accident. Although the machine crashed in the urban area of the capital of Guatemala , there were no fatalities on the ground.
machine
The aircraft was a Douglas DC-6B with the serial number 43531 , which was finally assembled in 1952 as the 262nd Douglas DC-6 from ongoing production at the Douglas Aircraft Company's facility in Long Beach , California . It was on August 23, 1952, the Pan American World Airways delivered and this in the name Clipper Viking baptized and with the air vehicle registration N6531C commissioned. The Aviateca took over the machine on August 31, 1961 and approved it with the new TG-ADA registration . The four-engine long-haul aircraft was equipped with four radial engines of the type Pratt & Whitney R-2800 equipped.
On February 21, 1978, the machine was involved in an incident while landing at New Orleans Airport when two main landing gear tires burst during landing. In this incident, the master retained control of the engine.
Crew and cargo
There was a three-person crew on board the machine, consisting of a flight captain, a first officer and a flight engineer. The flight was an animal transport , the machine had horses and cows loaded.
the accident
The animal transport started in Miami was approaching Guatemala City when the pilot reported problems with the oil pressure of an engine. When the aircraft was on its final approach to La Aurora airport 20 minutes later, the animals being transported were moving on the loading area, which led to a significant shift in the center of gravity. The captain lost control of the machine and attempted a crash landing on a small football field surrounded by houses. The machine hit the ground with a roll angle of 30 degrees, killing the crew and destroying the aircraft. The crash site was almost completely restricted to the soccer field. None of the surrounding houses was damaged and although the machine had crashed in the urban area, nobody was harmed on the ground.
root cause
It was found that the animals in the hold were not properly tied and began to move on the final approach, causing a shift in the center of gravity, making the aircraft uncontrollable.
swell
- Crash of a Douglas DC-6B in Guatemala City: 3 killed , B3A - Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives
- Accident report DC-6B, TG-ADA in the Aviation Safety Network
Individual evidence
- ↑ Operating history of the machine on rzjets.net