Trans-World Airlines Flight 128
| Trans-World Airlines Flight 128 | |
|---|---|
_JP5929810.jpg) The affected machine |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Controlled flight into terrain |
| place | near Constance , Kentucky , United States
|
| date | November 20, 1967 |
| Fatalities | 70 |
| Survivors | 12 |
| Injured | 12 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
Convair CV-880-22-1
|
| operator |
Trans World Airlines
|
| Mark |
N821TW
|
| Departure airport |
Los Angeles International Airport , California , United States
|
| 1. Stopover |
Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport , Erlanger , Kentucky , United States
|
| 2. Stopover |
Pittsburgh International Airport , Pennsylvania , United States
|
| Destination airport |
Logan International Airport , Boston , Massachusetts , United States
|
| Passengers | 75 |
| crew | 7th |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
Trans World Airlines Flight 128 (flight number TW128 , radio call sign TWA 128 ) was a scheduled flight of Trans World Airlines from Los Angeles to Cincinnati . On November 20, 1967, the Convair CV-880-22-1 N821TW of Trans World Airlines had an accident on this flight when the pilots steered the machine into the area just before landing two kilometers from the destination airport . In the incident, 70 of the 82 people on board were killed. Up until the Cathay Pacific flight 700Z, it was the worst accident involving a Convair CV-880.
plane
The machine was a Convair CV-880-22-1 with the serial number 22-00-27 , which was rolled out on December 20, 1960. On January 8, 1961, the machine was delivered new to Trans World Airlines; on January 12, 1961, it was put into operation with the aircraft registration number N821TW and fleet number 8821 . The four-engine medium range - narrow-body aircraft was equipped with four Turbojettriebwerken type General Electric CJ-805-3 equipped. By the time of the accident, the machine had completed a total of 18,850 operating hours.
Passengers and crew
The flight from Los Angeles to Cincinnati had taken 75 passengers. The crew was seven and consisted of a flight captain, a first officer, a flight engineer and four flight attendants:
- The 45-year-old flight captain Charles L. Cochran held type ratings for the Lockheed Constellation , Convair CV-880 and Convair CV-990 aircraft . He had 12,895 hours of flight experience, 1,390 hours of which in the cockpit of the Convair CV-880.
- 33-year-old First Officer Robert P. Moyers held type ratings for the Convair CV-880 and Boeing 377 . He had 2,647 hours of flight experience, 447 hours of which with the Convair CV-880.
- 29-year-old flight engineer Jerry L. Roades had 3,479 hours of flight experience as a pilot, none of which he had completed in the Convair CV-880. As a flight engineer on board the Convair CV-880, he had served 288 hours of service.
Flight plan
Flight TW128 was a scheduled domestic flight from Los Angeles, California International Airport to Boston, Massachusetts, with stopovers in Cincinnati, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
the accident
The departure from Los Angeles was delayed due to a component change. The aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure. The only flaw in the machine was an inoperative generator that had no effect on this accident. The plane took off at 2:37 p.m. local time in Los Angeles. The flight to Cincinnati was initially uneventful. The descent from cruising altitude into the Cincinnati area was delayed due to traffic conflicts and was initiated closer to the destination than normal. The crew had to descend at a higher than normal speed in the direction of the initial approach fix. The crew discussed the technique they would use to increase the rate of descent and it was found that they were operating relaxed, unconcerned and within the aircraft's established operational limits. When the crew reported that they were leaving the altitude of 15,500 feet, comments were made in the cockpit about the speed of the descent and the hope that it would appear to be a thin layer, apparently in relation to the underlying cloud conditions. The crew checked the de-icing equipment and conversations between the crew members revealed that they were not aware of any discrepancies relating to this system. When the aircraft was handed over to approach control, it failed to inform the crew of the current altimeter setting of 30.07 instead of 30.06 inches Hg. Shortly after the crew heard a radio message to another aircraft with the current altimeter setting of 07/30, they set this setting on their altimeters and checked them.
An ILS-based approach to runway 18 at Greater Cincinnati Airport was originally planned. The outer beacon for runway 18 was operational, but the center beacon, glide path, and runway lights were inoperative. Under these conditions, it would have been reasonable that the pilots would have maintained the minimum approach altitude of 390 meters above sea level until they could establish visual contact with the runway.
At 20:56 the crew reported the outer middle marker to have flown over (Outer Marker). The pilots then received clearance to land. The crew then began the descent and went through the landing checklist. The machine sank to a height of 267 meters and initially grazed trees at a point 2,852 meters from runway 18 and 131 meters to the right of the approach baseline. The first impact was described by a surviving flight attendant as a hard landing, followed by a series of hard impacts and the final impact of the machine on the ground. None of the survivors remembered an increase in engine power. The accident occurred at 8:57 p.m. in the dark in an area with snowfall.
The final position of the machine was in a wooded area 2,096 meters from the runway. The machine broke apart on impact and went up in flames. Of the 82 people on board the plane, 60 were killed instantly and another ten died in the days following the crash. Among the dead were five crew members and 65 passengers. Twelve people, including two crew members and ten passengers, survived seriously injured. One of the surviving passengers reported that the machine's fuselage broke apart shortly before its row of seats. He then left the machine through the crack. Shortly afterwards the Convair exploded.
root cause
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident. Investigators determined that the likely cause of the accident was a fault on the part of the crew. During the attempt to make a visual approach without a glide path under difficult weather conditions and at night, this did not double-check the altimeter.
consequences
Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes requested that runway 18 be closed. After the runway reopened, high lights were installed around the slope on the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Commemoration
A plaque was erected in Hebron , Kentucky .
context
The accident occurred two weeks after another Trans World Airlines plane, a Boeing 707, crashed at the same airport after an aborted take-off, whereby one passenger died (see also Trans-World Airlines flight 159 ) .
swell
- Crash of a Convair CV-880-22-1 in Cincinnati: 70 killed , B3A - Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives
- Aircraft Accident Report: Trans World Airlines, Inc. Convair CV-880 N821TW Constance, Kentucky November 20, 1967 , National Transportation Safety Board , August 27, 1969.
- Accident report CV-880, N821TW , Aviation Safety Network
Coordinates: 39 ° 5 ′ 3.7 ″ N , 84 ° 40 ′ 12 ″ W.