Lajes

The four engine aircraft was completing a mail flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada and Lajes and back to Lisbon. On the last leg from Lajes to Lisbon, the cargo consisted of 1,693,5 kg of cargo and mail. Shortly after takeoff from runway 33, while in initial climb, the engine n°3 failed and its propeller autofeathered. Six seconds later, the engine n°4 failed as well. The aircraft went out of control and crashed in hilly terrain not far from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all seven occupants were killed.

Crash on landing in Lajes in the following circumstances, according to the following testimony:
I was the Maintenance Job Controller on duty when the day this occurred. The incident aircraft had declared an inflight emergency (IFE) for (if I recall correctly) #3 engine shutdown. In any case it was right wing engine that was out of service. Fire trucks were standing by as this was SOP for IFEs. The aircraft came in from south to north. On landing roll the crew reversed all three operating engines instead of only the running symmetrical engines of each wing. Having twice the reverse thrust action exerted on the left wing caused the aircraft to yaw left and depart the runway. After going through the perimeter fence off to the left of the runway, it rode up some rock walls and nearly impacted two dwellings on the other side before coming to rest. The left wing caught on fire. In pictures that are available you can see where one of the propellers that departed on impact sliced a hole in the fuselage just in front of the red prop plane of rotation line on the left hand side. Fortunately, because the fire trucks were already lined up on the runway, the fire was extinguished quickly. The only injury to the aircrew was a broken finger. Some side notes. The aircraft was carrying the produce flown in weekly for the commissary on base, No big deal in the scope of things but fruits and veggies were in short supply unless you went local. Also, in one of those oddities of life that made it all the more surreal, the Line Chief had said over the maintenance radio just before it landed, “I hope he remembers to reverse only one and four when he lands.” The next words I heard from him were, “We have a 130 in the dirt!” “We have a 130 on fire!” You just can’t make that stuff up. It was almost prescient. The aircraft was eventually mated with the cockpit section of C-130 that was written off due to a hard landing in Germany. They flew that in on a C-5 with replacement wings etc. Robbins Depot Maintenance came in and bolted it all together. It eventually flew out on a onetime flight to the depot in Italy.
Thanks to Bill Hewett, maintenance controller on duty when it occurred.

The four engine airplane was completing a flight from Madrid to Bogotá with intermediate stops in Lajes (Azores Islands) and Hamilton, Bermuda. En route from Lajes to Hamilton, the navigation system failed and the crew became lost and disoriented. While cruising in strong head winds (up to 55 knots), the aircraft ran out of fuel and the crew was forced to ditch the aircraft about 330 km east of Cape May, New Jersey. The airplane remained afloat for about 56 hours before it sank and was lost. Eight occupants were rescued and evacuated while five others were killed.

While flying in marginal weather conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Serra de Santa Bárbara National Forest, on the west side of Terceira Island. All three crew members were killed.

The four engine airplane was completing a training mission out from Lajes when it crashed under unknown circumstances into the Atlantic Ocean, about 32 km northeast of Lajes. Few debris were found floating on water and all seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt David G. Schwerstein,
Lt Michael E. Hayes,
Ltjg Michael Dziubak,
Ad1 Robert L. Hasselbacher,
Ad1 Randolph L. Affield,
Ao3 Robert J. Elmore,
At3 Weslie Donald Putnam.

The four engine airplane departed Lajes Airport, Azores Islands, at 0836LT on a maritime patrol flight. About two hours later, the crew reported his position and that all went well on board. This was the last radio transmission. At 1120LT, while cruising at an altitude of 2,300 feet in a limited visibility due to foggy conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain (5,200 feet high) at a speed pof 220 knots and crashed. The wreckage was found in a wooded area located near la Frontera, in the center of the island. At the time of the accident, three engines were operating while the engine n°1 was shutdown for loiter.

While descending to Lajes Airport, the crew encountered very poor weather conditions and limited visibility due to the night, low clouds and heavy rain falls. On short final, the pilot failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the top of a hill located 1,500 metres short of runway 16 threshold and crashed in flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 68 occupants were killed, among them members of the Venezuelan choir Orfeón Universitario who were flying to Barcelona, Spain, to take part to an international festival. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with heavy rain falls and winds gusting to 30 knots after the hurricane 'Emmy' passed over the Azores Islands that day.

About 57 minutes after his departure from Dover AFB, en route to Lajes, Azores Islands, the crew informed ground about his position flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet. In unknown circumstances, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the ocean about 1,440 km east of the coast of New Jersey. SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 crew members was found.

32 minutes after its departure from Dover AFB, while cruising east of Maryland coast at an altitude of 17,000 feet, the airplane disappeared from radar screens and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. An empty life raft and a nose wheel were found floating on water some 53 miles east of Ocean City, Maryland, but no trace of the ten occupants was found. Amazingly, no other debris were found as the airplane was carrying 25 tons of various materials consisting of clothes, boxes and bags.

The aircraft departed Langley AFB at 1117LT bound for Lajes, Azores Islands. In the early afternoon, around 1330LT, the last radio contact was recorded with the crew. As the airplane failed to arrive at Lajes, SAR operations were conducted at the end of the day. Several aircraft were involved in the survey mission and patrol flights were conducted for few days over an area of 705,000 km2. After thousands of flying hours, all operations were suspended as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. It is believed the airplane crashed into the ocean about 400 km east of the US coast.
Crew:
Cpt Robert Tawney, pilot,
1st Lt Zoltan Robert Szaloki, copilot 7.