Trans International Airlines Flight 863
| Trans International Airlines Flight 863 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A Trans International Airlines DC-8-63CF |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Loss of control in the initial climb |
| place |
John F. Kennedy International Airport , New York City , New York , United States
|
| date | September 8, 1970 |
| Fatalities | 11 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
Douglas DC-8-63CF
|
| operator |
Trans International Airlines
|
| Mark |
N4863T
|
| Departure airport |
John F. Kennedy International Airport , New York City , New York , United States
|
| Destination airport |
Washington Dulles International Airport , Arlington County , Virginia , United States
|
| Passengers | 0 |
| crew | 11 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On September 8, 1970, a Douglas DC-8-63CF crashed on Trans-International Airlines Flight 863 (flight number: TV863 ) shortly after take-off from John F. Kennedy International Airport . All eleven crew members were killed in the accident. The cause of the accident was determined to be an elevator blocked by a blown foreign object.
plane
The machine used on Flight 863 was a Douglas DC-8-63CF with the serial number 45951, which was finally assembled in 1968 at the Douglas plant in Long Beach , California as the 414th machine in the DC-8 series. The four - engine, narrow -body long-haul aircraft was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-7 engines. The machine was delivered to Trans International Airlines in November 1968 and has been operated continuously with the aircraft registration N4863T ever since. The machine was less than two years old at the time of the accident and had a mileage of 7878 operating hours.
Occupants and planned flight history
The machine was to perform a positioning flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport . For this reason, there were no passengers on board, but only a crew of eleven, consisting of a captain, first officer, flight engineer and eight flight attendants. The captain was 49-year-old Joseph Jon May, who had 22,300 hours of flight experience. First officer was 47-year-old John Donald Loeffler, who had completed 15,775 flight hours. The flight engineer was Donald Kenneth Neely, 42, who had 10,000 hours of flight experience, including 3,500 on the DC-8.
the accident
At 4:04 p.m. local time, the machine received clearance to take off runway 13R. A minute later the crew began the take-off run. The rotation , which took place after 470 meters, happened much earlier than usual. For this reason, there was a tail strike , with the rear of the machine dragging 380 meters above the runway. The tailstrike could be clearly heard on the recordings on the voice recorder .
The next moment the master instructed the first officer to hoist the engine, whereupon the latter replied that he could not control it. After a take-off run of 850 meters, the machine soared. About 1–2 seconds after take off, the stall warning system was activated, warning of an impending stall. The machine rose at an angle of 60 to 90 degrees upwards and reached while a flying height of 300 to 500 feet (91/152 meters) before it only 20 degrees to the right and then left rolled until it a stall with by aircraft nose pointing down came. On impact the machine exploded and a fire broke out. All eleven crew members were killed.
Accident investigation
The accident investigation was conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board . The investigators described the accident as not survivable. When examining the wreckage, the investigators discovered a sharp-edged, asphalt-covered foreign body that was stuck between the right elevator and the right horizontal stabilizer . The investigators found that this foreign object had blocked the elevator and thus impaired the pitch control. The pilots could not avert the loss of control.
An examination of the material that made up the foreign body revealed that it was a piece of asphalt . The investigators could not find out how this could get into the tailplane, but one thesis is that it was thrown up by the wake vortices of another, previously started machine. The investigators ruled that the foreign body must have reached the site under unknown and highly unusual circumstances, which the crew did not notice in time to initiate a successful abortion.
The investigators also gave the crew a share of responsibility for the accident. A lack of reactivity of the crew was complained about. In addition, as the more experienced pilot, the captain did not adequately monitor the take-off run.
consequences
As a consequence of the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration published new regulations in which the prescribed time interval between starting machines was increased.
Similar incidents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Accident Report DC-8-63CF, N4863T , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 29, 2019.
- ↑ Operating history DC-8-63, N4863T Planespotters (English), accessed on March 29, 2019.
Coordinates: 40 ° 39 ′ 0 ″ N , 73 ° 47 ′ 0 ″ W.