Kansas City

The aircraft made a "firm" landing, in heavy rain, about 1,050 feet past the approach end of runway 18. When the crew's efforts to stop the aircraft were ineffective, and the captain was convinced that they were going off the end of the runway, he used differential power and rudder to cock the aircraft to the left. The aircraft slid off the end of the runway, went through the US localizer antenna building, struck a dirt blast mound, slid up over the mound, and came to rest with the nose section in the perimeter road between the blast mound and a river levee. Of the 60 passengers and 6 crew members aboard, three passengers and two crew members received minor injuries. The aircraft received substantial damage although no major fire occurred. The passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft without major difficulty.

En route, control was lost and the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion near Kansas City. All five occupants were killed.

Continental Air Lines Flight 290, a Viscount 812, N242V, a regularly flight from Midland, Texas, crashed at the Kansas City Municipal Airport, Kansas City, Missouri, at 2244 c. s. t., January 29, 1963. All the occupants, three crew members and five passengers, received fatal injuries and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and subsequent fire. After making a straight-in approach to land on runway 18, in visual flight conditions, the aircraft continued to fly over the runway in a nose-up attitude without touching down. Near the south end of the runway, from an altitude of approximately 90 feet, the aircraft nosed over sharply, wings level, and dived into the ground. The main wreckage came to rest 680 feet beyond the end of the runway.

On the night of May 22, 1962, a Continental Air Lines Boeing 707-124, N70775, operating as Flight 11 en route from O’Hare Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri, was flying via Jet Route 26V at an altitude of 39,000 feet. A few minutes after Flight 11 had made a northerly deviation from course to circumnavigate a thunderstorm, in the vicinity of Centerville, Iowa, the radar image of the aircraft disappeared from the scope of the Waverly, Iowa, Flight Following Service. At approximately 2117 an explosion occurred in the right rear lavatory resulting in separation of the tail section from the fuselage. The aircraft broke up and the main part of the fuselage struck the ground about 6 miles north-northwest of Unionville, Missouri. All 37 passengers and crew of 8 sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was totally destroyed.

The aircraft was chartered to transport the California State Polytechnic College football team from Santa Maria, California to Toledo, Ohio and return. The aircraft took off from Toledo Express Airport on the return flight to San Luis Obispo, California, weighing approximately 2,000 lb more than its maximum certificated gross weight of 47,100 lb. During initial climb, the airplane stalled and crashed in flames a field 1,1 mile past the runway end. Both pilots and 20 passengers, among them 16 members of the football team, were killed while 26 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

On June 30, 1956, at 0901, Trans World Airlines Flight 2, a regularly scheduled passenger service, took off from runway 25 of the Los Angeles Inter-national Airport. Flight 2 was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan from Los Angeles, California, to Kansas City, Missouri, via Green Airway 5, Amber Airway 2, Daggett direct Trinidad, direct Dodge City, Victor Airway 10 Kansas City. The flight plan also proposed a cruising altitude of 19,000 feet, a .JPG"> airspeed of 270 knots, and a departure time of 0830. The Trans World flight crew consisted of Captain Jack S. Gandy, Copilot James H. Ritner, Flight Engineer Forrest D. Breyfogle, night Engineer Harry H. Allen (aboard as an additional crew member), and Hostesses Tracine E. Armbruster and Beth E. Davis. Preparations for Flight 2 were routine except that departure was delayed a few minutes by minor maintenance on the aircraft. The flight was dispatched with 3,300 gallons of fuel and the load manifest showed the gross weight of the aircraft at takeoff was 108,115 pounds, well, under the maximum allowable of 113,200 pounds. The load was properly distributed with respect to center of gravity limitations of the aircraft. As requested. the flight, after takeoff, contacted the Los Angeles tower radar departure controller, and was vectored through an overcast which existed in the Los Angeles area. After reporting "on top" (2,400 feet) the flight switched to Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center (referred to as Los Angeles Center) frequency, 118.9 mcs., for its en route clearance. This clearance specified the routing as filed in the flight plan, however, the controller specified that the flight climb to 19,000 feet in VFR conditions. Immediately thereafter TWA 2 asked for a routing change to Daggett via Victor Airway 210. This was approved in a routine manner. At 0921, through company radio communications, Flight 2 reported that it was approaching Daggett and requested a change in flight plan altitude assignment from 19,000 to 21,000 feet. ARTC (Los Angeles Center) advised they were unable to approve the requested altitude because of traffic (United Air Lines Flight 718). Flight 2 requested a clearance of 1,000 feet on top. Ascertaining from the radio operator that the flight was then at least 1,000 on top, ARTC cleared the flight. At 0959 Trans World 2 reported its position through company radio at Las Vegas. It reported that it had passed Lake Mohave at 0955, was 1,000 on top at 21,000 feet, and estimated it would reach the 321-degree radial of the Winslow omni range station (Painted Desert) at 1031 with Farmington next. This was the last radio communication with the flight.

While cruising by night at an altitude of 5,500 feet in good weather conditions, the engine number three caught fire. The crew feathered the propeller and received the permission to divert to Gage municipal Airport for an emergency landing. Following a normal landing, the right main gear collapsed. The aircraft veered off runway and came to rest in flames. All 82 occupants were able to evacuate safely while the aircraft was totally destroyed by fire.

At 0833 Trip 46 was cleared to Runway 10 for takeoff. At this time the aircraft carried 585 gallons of fuel and was loaded to a gross takeoff weight of 36,345 pounds which was 10,655 pounds less than the maximum allowable. The load was properly distributed so that the center of gravity of the aircraft was within the approved limits. A pre-takeoff check was conducted adjacent to Runway 10 at which time the propellers, engines and instruments gave normal Indications. A part of this check included moving the control column fore and aft and turning the wheel left and right in order to check the control system for freedom of movement and full travel. At 0838 the flight was cleared for takeoff which was made using normal takeoff power. Immediately after becoming airborne the crew noted a slight vibration which was attributed to an unbalanced condition of the spinning main landing gear wheels. Captain Persing applied brakes during the landing gear retraction to eliminate this vibration; however, it not only continued but rapidly increased in severity. The aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 75 feet, the highest attained, and was near the airport boundary when the vibration stopped with a sudden jolt and the aircraft assumed a nose-down attitude. The first officer immediately sensing the situation joined the captain and both exerted their entire strength applying back pressure to their respective control columns to keep the aircraft from plunging into the ground. The captain quickly reduced power; however, the nose-down pressure could not be completely overcome. The first officer used nose-up trim control in an effort to relieve the nose-down pressure; this action had no appreciable effect and during the last attempt the trim tab control wheel appeared to be stuck. The captain established a shallow left turn with the thought of returning to the airport and continued the turn about 45 degrees from the takeoff heading. As air speed decreased power was momentarily increased whereupon it became evident to the crew that using power sufficient to maintain flight resulted in an insurmountable nose-down pressure. The captain therefore decided to make a wheels-up landing straight ahead. Close to the ground the first officer closed the throttles and the captain pulled the electrical crash bar. Contact with the ground followed with the aircraft in a near-level attitude and at approximately 100 m.p.h. Although the passengers and crew received injuries of varying degrees, they were able to get out of the aircraft unassisted in an orderly manner. The evacuation was mainly through the rear service door (emergency exit) and was accomplished in about 30 seconds. There was no fire.

The airplane departed Jackson, Michigan, for Atlanta, Georgia, with a planned intermediate stop to discharge cargo at Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kansas. This was a cargo flight designated as Trip 40-2011; the crew consisted of Captain William D. Speaks, Pilot in command, Captain Edward F. Kaselak and First officer Byron R. Williams. Prior to departing Jackson, the crew went to the CAA communications Station on the airport and reviewed the weather sequence reports and en route forecast and Captain Speaks also telephoned the U.S. Weather Bureau office at Detroit, Michigan, to obtain more detailed information. Following the review of the weather data, an IFR (instrument Flight Rules) flight plan to Kansas City, Kansas, was filed which indicated a cruising altitude of 10,000 feet, estimated elapsed time of four hour plus 20 minutes with seven hours of fuel on board and Springfield, Missouri, as the alternate airport, According to company records, the weight of the aircraft at takeoff was under the allowable gross weight of 26,900 pounds and the load was distributed so that the center of gravity of the aircraft was within approved limits. Routine position reports were made and when over Burlington, Iowa, at 0536, the flight was cleared to the Liberty Non-Directional Beacon, 16 miles northeast of Kansas City, to descend to and maintain 2,500 feet. At 0627, ARTC (Air Route Traffic Control) cleared the flight to the Kansas City, Missouri ILS (Instrument Landing System) outer marker to maintain 2,500 feet and to contact approach control when over Liberty. Twenty-nine minutes later, at 0656, the flight reported being over Liberty and approach control gave it the 0635 Kansas City, Missouri weather as follows: ceiling measured 600 feet, overcast, visibility 1-1/2 miles, light freezing drizzle, fog, and altimeter setting 29, 89. At this time approach control also verified that the aircraft was to land at the Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kansas, and immediately gave it the 0655 Fairfax Airport weather report: ceiling measured 600 feet, overcast, visibility 2 miles, light freezing drizzle, light snow fog and wind northwest 30 m.p.h. This airport is one and one-half miles northwest of the Kansas City Municipal Airport and across the Missouri River. The flight was then cleared to make an ADF approach to Fairfax for a landing on Runway 31 and was requested to report leaving the outer marker. N 49551 reported leaving the outer marker inbound at 0705 and was advised to contact the Fairfax Tower, The flight complied and requested the wind direction and runway in use. The tower replied that the runway was 31, the wind was from the north-northwest 20-30 m.p.h. and gusty, and the altimeter setting was 29.88. A few seconds later the tower also advised that the high intensity approach lights at the Kansas City Municipal Airport were on and if too bright, would be turned down. The flight's acknowledgement was negative and there was no further radio contact. At approximately 0775 the wreckage was located by the Kansas City Municipal Airport Patrol 400 feet north and 156 feet west of the approach and of Runway 17 of that airport.

Few minutes after takeoff from Denver, bound for Kansas City, the twin engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located 8 miles northwest of Golden. The aircraft was destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed. For unknown reason, the crew was flying to the west straight on to the Rocky Mountains instead to the east to Kansas City.