Martin 4-0-4

Martin 4-0-4
The last airworthy Martin 4-0-4 (N636X) bears the livery of Pacific Air Lines, which was dissolved in 1968
Type:	twin-engine passenger aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Glenn L. Martin Company
First flight:	October 21, 1950
Production time:	1950 to 1953
Number of pieces:	103

The Martin 4-0-4 is a twin-engine, short- and medium-haul passenger aircraft that was built by the Glenn L. Martin Company from 1950 to 1953.

History and Development

As the most important innovation compared to its predecessor, the Martin 2-0-2, the aircraft was equipped with a pressurized cabin . Its military designation with the American Coast Guard in the designation system of the US Navy at that time was RM-1 and from 1962 then VC-3A .

The Martin 4-0-4 was not as successful as the competing models Convair CV-240 , 340 and 440 and was the only successful American passenger aircraft at the time that was not ordered by European airlines.

Military users

Martin RM-1 1958 of the USCG

•  United States
  • US Coast Guard , two machines later to the
  • U.S. Navy passed

Civil operator

Eastern Air Lines Martin 4-0-4, circa 1955

• Companies that have acquired the Martin 4-0-4 directly from Martin:
  • Trans World Airlines
  • Eastern Air Lines

• Companies that have purchased used Martin 4-0-4 (incomplete):
  • ASA International Airlines
  • Mohawk Airlines
  • Ozark Air Lines
  • Pacific Air Lines
  • Piedmont Airlines
  • Provincetown-Boston Airlines
  • Southern Airways

Incidents

In the operating time of the Martin 4-0-4 from 1950 to 2008 there were 27 total losses. 101 people were killed in 9 of them. Examples:

• On February 19, 1955, a Martin 4-0-4 of the US American Trans World Airlines (TWA) ( aircraft registration number N40416 ) crashed into thick clouds against the Sandia mountain range at an altitude of around 3000 after taking off from Albuquerque Airport to Santa Fé Meters and 21 kilometers northeast of the departure airport. The three-person crew and the 13 passengers died immediately. The unspoken suspicion of an extended suicide by the flight captain Ivan Spong could only be dispelled after years of research by the pilots' association ALPA . The cause of the accident was a stuck course top (see also Trans-World-Airlines-Flight 260 ) .

• On April 1, 1956, a Trans World Airlines (TWA) Martin 4-0-4 (N40403) crashed 500 meters southwest of Greater Pittsburgh Airport shortly after take- off. After a (only optical) fire warning at a height of 30 meters, the left engine was switched off, whereby the propeller was not brought into the sail position in the very short time available due to uncoordinated action by the two pilots . Due to the high air resistance, the ground came into contact. Of the 36 inmates, 22 were killed.

• On November 15, 1956, engine number 2 (right) on a Martin 4-0-4 operated by Trans World Airlines (TWA) (N40404) failed after taking off from Las Vegas-McCarran Airport ( Nevada , USA). The machine was approached at far excessive speed and jumped into the air several times after touching down on the runway. When attempting to go- with only one engine running the left wing hit the ground. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, but all 38 occupants survived.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	3-4
Passengers	40
length	22.73 m
span	28.42 m
height	8.66 m
Wing area	80.27 m²
Wing extension	10.1
Empty mass	13,211 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	20,366 kg
Top speed	502 km / h
Service ceiling	8,840 m
Range	1,783 km
Engines	2 radial engines Pratt & Whitney R-2800 -CB16 each with 2,400  HP (1,765  kW )

Web links

Commons : Martin 404  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Martin Airliners - Full history of the Martin 4-0-4 on a Maryland Aviation Museum website
• Martin 202/404 - statistics, photos and history, on oldprops.ukhome.net (engl.)
• Detailed photographs of a restored Martin 4-0-4

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Accident statistics Martin 4-0-4 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 6, 2020.
2. ↑ ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest 8, Circular 54-AN / 49, Montreal 1958 (English), pp. 13-15.
3. ↑ accident report Martin 404 N40416 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 26 August 2017th
4. ↑ ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest 8, Circular 54-AN / 49, Montreal 1958 (English), pp. 67-71.
5. ↑ accident report Martin 404 N40403 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 7 March of 2019.
6. ↑ accident report Martin 404 N40404 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 23 June 2020th