Lockheed L-188 Electra

The airplane was completing a cargo flight from San Francisco to Deadhorse with an intermediate stop in Fairbanks, carrying a crew of three and 17,000 liters of fuel. After touchdown on a gravel runway covered by snow and ice, control was lost. The airplane veered off runway to the left, contacted an embankment then came to rest on a road. All three crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

Lockheed L-188 Aircraft CF-PAB operated as Panarctic flight 416 and departed Calgary International Airport at 18:05 hours 29 October 1974. The aircraft was on a routine positioning flight to Edmonton with a pilot-in-command, co-pilot and flight engineer on board. The 30-minute flight was uneventful with no unserviceabilities reported by the crew. The aircraft was prepared for the continuing flight north with the loading of 20000 lb of baggage and freight and 21000 lb of jet B fuel. The aircraft pilot-in-command and flight engineer were replaced by those scheduled for the Edmonton to Rea Point leg. The pilot-in-command received a weather briefing; an IFR flight plan was filed at an initial cruising altitude of 18000 ft with Pedder Point as the alternate. The estimated time en-route was 4 hours 12 minutes. After loading 30 passengers and a fourth crew man, the loadmaster/flight attendant, the aircraft departed the Edmonton International Airport at 20:04 hours. The flight proceeded uneventfully, cruising at 18 000ft to Fort Smith where it was cleared to flight level 210. The aircraft reported over Byron Bay at 23:04 hours with an estimated time of arrival at Rea Point of 00:16. About 100 miles north of Byron Bay the aircraft was cleared to flight level 250. Radio contact was established with Rea Point about 150 miles out and a descent was started for a straight-in VOR/DME approach to runway 33. The descent was smooth except for some turbulence at 4000 ft. The aircraft levelled at 17 miles DME from Rea Point at 2000 ft for a period of 1 minute 45 seconds. The aircraft then slowly descended to about 875 ft ASL at 6 miles DME. A call was made to Rea Point advising them of the DME range on final. There was light turbulence. Fifteen hundred horsepower was selected on the engines; both the VHF navigation radios were selected to the Rea Point VOR frequency and both ADF's were selected to the Rea Point OX nondirectional beacon. Both cockpit barometric altimeters were set to 29.91 in of mercury, the latest Rea Point setting. The airspeed was indicating 150 kt which, with a 30 kt headwind component, resulted in a ground speed of 120 kt. The pre-landing check had been completed, 100 per cent flap selected and the landing gear was down. The landing lights were extended but were off, the wing leading edge lights as well as the alternate taxi lights were on. Glare had been experienced from external lights early in the descent from 10000 ft, but not thereafter. There was no pre-landing briefing conducted by the pilot-in-command. The flight engineer was able to see what appeared to be open water below with ice. The co-pilot set his radio altimeter warning to 450 ft and the pilot-in-command set his to 300 ft. When the warning light came on the co-pilot's radio altimeter, he advised the pilot-in-command. As the descent continued through the minimum descent altitude of 450 ft, the co-pilot reset his radio altimeter to 300 ft and so advised the pilot-in-command. The aircraft was still in a shallow descent. At 300 ft radio altitude the co-pilot checked the DME reading as 3 miles, saw a dark area of open water and an ice line and reported to the pilot-in-command that they seemed to be approaching an ice ridge and that they had visual contact. The pilot-in-command reset his radio altimeter to about 150 ft. Also, close to this time the pilot-in-command said he believed they were on top of a layer of cloud, repeated the statement, following which he retarded the throttles and pushed forward on the control column with sufficient force to produce perceptible negative G. The rate of descent increased rapidly to between 1700 and 2000 ft a minute. The co-pilot shouted at the pilot-in-command reporting their descent through 200 ft at 2 miles DME but there was no response. The flight engineer and the co-pilot both called through 50 ft without an observed reaction from the pilot-in-command. The co-pilot reached for the right side power levers and found the flight engineer's hands already on them. On impact, the cockpit area broke away from the remainder of the fuselage and with the cargo continued along the ice surface for 900 ft. After the cockpit came to rest, the flight engineer undid his seat belt and saw both the pilot-in-command and co-pilot in their seats. The co-pilot although injured was able to undo his seat belt and the flight engineer pulled him on to the ice before the cockpit section sank completely.

After takeoff from runway 12 at Bogotá-El Dorado Airport, while in initial climb in limited visibility, the four engine airplane struck the slope of Mt El Cable located 11 km southeast of the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 42 occupants were killed.

The crew was completing a ferry flight from Tucson to Ogden-Hill AFB. On approach, while descending to a height of 7,000 feet, the crew got a n°2 prop low oil warning. The engine was shut down but the crew was unable to feather the propeller for unknown reason. Despite the situation, the pilot-in-command was able to continue the approach and landed safely on runway 32. After touchdown, the n°2 prop separated from its mount and debris punctured the n°1 fuel tank. The airplane caught fire and came to rest in flames after a course of 4,000 feet. All three crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

The crew was completing a local training flight at Manila Intl Airport. After landing, the four engine airplane went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. While all four crew members escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While cruising at an altitude of 21,000 feet on a flight from Lima to Pucallpa, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity and severe turbulences. It appears that lightning struck the right wing that caught fire and later detached. As the pilot-in-command attempted to stabilize the airplane, turbulences caused a structural failure of the left wing. Out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in flames in a jungle located in a mountainous area in the region of Puerto Inca. Debris and dead bodies were found in a large area. A female passenger aged 17, Juliane Koepcke, was ejected at impact and was the only survivor. Despite her injuries (a broken collar bone, a deep gash to her right arm, a concussion and an eye injury), she walked away for 10 days and was eventually rescued by lumbermen.

The airplane was engaged in a cargo flight from Ogden-Hill AFB to Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, with intermediate stops in Mountain Home, Fairchild AFB (Spokane), Great Falls and Minot, carrying various equipment for the US Army. After liftoff from runway 32, while climbing, the pilot raised the landing gear when the airplane pitched down to 15°. It lost height and struck the ground 8,200 feet past the runway end, slid for about 2,600 feet before coming to rest in flames. All three crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The airplane was departing Cuzco-Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport on a flight to Lima, carrying a crew of nine and 91 passengers, among them 49 US students who were returning to Lima following a visit of the Machu Picchu ruins. During the takeoff roll, which was 700 meters longer than normal, the engine number three failed. The takeoff procedure was continued as well as the initial climb at a speed of V2 + 15 knots. Once the altitude of 300 feet was reached, the flaps were retracted and at a speed of 140 knots, the aircraft turn left then banked left at an angle of 30-45°. Control was lost and the airplane crashed onto a hill located about 4 km east of the airport. The copilot survived while 99 other occupants and two people on the ground were killed.

On final approach to Porto Alegre-Salgado Filho Airport, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the right main gear struck an obstacle and was torn off. Upon landing, the airplane slid partially on its belly for dozen yards before coming to rest. While all 51 occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Braniff Flight 352 departed Houston (HOU) at 16:11 for a flight to Dallas (DAL) and climbed to FL200. Some 25 minutes into the flight, the L-188A Electra was approaching an area of severe thunderstorm activity. The crew requested a descent to FL150 and a deviation to the west. ARTCC then advised the crew that other aircraft were deviating to the east. The Electra crew still thought it looked all right on the west and were cleared to descend to FL140 and deviate to the west. At 16:44 the flight was further cleared to descend to 5000 feet. At 16:47 the aircraft had apparently encountered an area of bad weather, including hail, and requested (and were cleared for) a 180° turn. Subsequent to the initiation of a right turn, the aircraft was upset. During the upset, N9707C rolled to the right to a bank angle in excess of 90° and pitched nose-down to approximately 40 degrees. A roll recovery maneuver was initiated and the aircraft experienced forces of 4,35 g. Part of the right wing failed and the aircraft broke up at an altitude of 6750 feet and crashed in flames a little later. There was no survivor among the 85 occupants.