Washington DC

The Boeing 757 departed Washington-Dulles Airport at 0810LT on a regular schedule service to Los Angeles, carrying 58 passengers and a crew of six. Few minutes later, the aircraft was hijacked by terrorists who modified the flight path and flew direct over Washington DC. At 0945LT, the aircraft crashed on the southwest side of the Pentagon building. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 64 occupants were killed. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Safety Board provided requested technical assistance to the FBI, and this material generated by the NTSB is under the control of the FBI. The Safety Board does not plan to issue a report or open a public docket.

The pilot stated he checked the fuel quantity in the inboard fuel tanks, but may have omitted the outboard tanks. He departed and climbed to 100 feet where the airplane yawed right. He believed it was a gust of wind which he attempted to correct. At 200 feet, the pilot stated the airplane rolled hard right and impacted trees in a 60 degree nose down attitude. There was no indication of a left engine discrepancy prior to impact. The right engine was examined with no fuel found in the fuel lines, and trace fuel was found in the fuel servo. According to the accident pilot, he regularly flew between Washington-Dulles and Southport, North Carolina using only the inboard tanks. Because of this, he did not check the location of the fuel selector, nor did he necessarily check the fuel quantity in the outboard fuel tanks. The cockpit fuel selector for the right engine was found in the outboard tank location. The right outboard tank on this airplane was not breached, and contained no fuel. The takeoff checklist states the fuel selector should be on the inboard fuel tank prior to takeoff.

The pilots reported they experienced an engine fire during a missed approach in night, IMC conditions, and feathered the propeller and shut down the engine. On an approach to another airport, the airplane touched down short of the runway, traveled onto the runway, and then departed the left side of the runway. The pilot reported he could not maintain altitude due to ice accumulations, and the lack of power with one engine shut down. Examination of the wreckage revealed rotational damage to both engines and propellers consistent with operating engines. Neither propeller was in the feathered position. The pilot had been briefed about known moderate icing conditions, and isolated severe icing. The AFM recommended a minimum speed in icing conditions of 140 knots, and at less than 140 knots, ice could accumulate on the wings in unprotected areas. The pilot reported he flew the approach at 114 knots.

The airplane landed wheels up and slid 6,850 feet before coming to rest in grass about 140 feet left of the runway centerline. The cabin began to fill with smoke, and the airplane was evacuated. Investigation showed that because the captain had omitted the 'Hydraulics' item on the in-range checklist and the first officer failed to detect the the error, hydraulic pressure was not available to lower the landing gear and deploy the flaps. Both the captain and the first officer recognized that the flaps had not extended after the flaps were selected to 15°. The pilots then failed to perform the landing checklist and to detect the numerous cues alerting them to the status of the landing gear because of their focus on coping with the flap extension problem and the high level of workload as a result of the rapid sequence of events in the final minute of flight. The first officer attempted to communicate his concern about the excessive speed of the approach to the captain. There were deficiencies in Continental Airlines' (COA) oversight of its pilots and the principal operations inspector's oversight of COA. COA was aware of inconsistencies in flightcrew adherence to standard operating procedures within the airline; however, corrective actions taken before the accident had not resolved this problem.

After making a localizer runway 08 approach, the pilot landed over halfway down the 4,422 feet wet runway. He then decided to abort the landing, added power, and when airborne, retracted the landing gear. He said he asked the right front seat (non-rated) passenger to reset the flaps (to 20°). The pilot saw trees ahead, and realized the airplane was not going to clear the obstacles, though full power was applied. Just before impact, he pulled back on the elevator control to soften the impact, rather than hitting the trees nose first. After the accident, the wing flaps were found in the retracted position. A passenger was killed and three other occupants were seriously injured.

While on approach at night, in VMC, the left engine lost power due to fuel starvation. The propeller was not feathered, the l/g was left down, and the aircraft drifted left of crs, struck trees, and then the ground. One gallon of fuel was drained from the right wing, engine and fuel line. No fuel was found in the left wing, engine and fuel line. The copilot said the fuel quantity system was erratic with the left side more erratic, and the right side reading about 10 gallons more than the left side. Testing found the right side indicated about 45 gallons more than was present while the left side was inoperative. There was no requirement for periodic recalibration of the fuel quantity system. The owner/pilot had operated the aircraft on 32 flights, over 23 hours, and refueled 23 times using partial fills, since he had full tanks. The pilot was checked out 17 months prior and the instructor said the pilot was fine, however, he was cautioned him to enroll in recurrent training. There was no record he did. The pilot had received an FAA checkride 19 months prior to the accident, which he passed.

Following an uneventful flight from Washington DC, the crew started the descent to Chapel Hill-Horace Williams when he encountered zero visibility due to fog. On approach, the twin engine airplane struck trees and crashed. All seven occupants were killed.

While in cruising altitude, one of the engine failed. The pilot lost control of the airplane that stalled and entered a spin. It crashed in a field located near Vineland and exploded on ground. All four occupants were killed.

On February 12, 1979, Allegheny Airlines Flight 561 (N29824) had originally departed Benedum Airport, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Morgantown, West Virginia, at 1116, but the pilot decided not to make an approach at Morgantown because the instrument landing system's (ILS) glide slope was out of service, and the visibility was 1/2 mi. Thereafter the flight returned to Benedum Airport and landed at 1146. The aircraft was on the ground for about 1 hr 14 min at Benedum Airport. During that time the aircraft was refueled to 3,000 lbs of Jet-A fuel (1,500 lbs in each wing tank), and all surfaces were deiced with a mixture of unheated ethylene glycol and water. Although the Safety Board could not determine the precise time of deicing, the persons involved stated that it was performed between 1220 and 1235. The persons involved stated that it was performed between 1220 and 1235. The persons who deiced the plane stated that there was no snow or ice on the aircraft when they finished decing it. Flight 561 was rescheduled as a passenger flight from Benedum Airport to National Airport, Washington, D.C. There were 22 passengers and a crew of 3 on board. Before the captain started the engines for taxiing, the station agent asked him if he wanted the aircraft deiced again, since it was still snowing. The captain declined the offer and about 1257 he taxied the aircraft from the parking ramp. According to the station agent, the aircraft had about 1/4 in. of wet snow on all its horizontal surfaces when it left the parking ramp. He said that some of the snow blew off as the aircraft moved toward the departure runway, but some of the snow appeared to stick to the aircraft's horizontal surfaces. Twelve of the passengers recalled that shortly after liftoff, the aircraft rolled to the right, back to the left, and back to the right. After the last roll, the right wingtip struck the ground and impact followed shortly thereafter. The aircraft crashed in an inverted position off the right side of the departure end of runway 21. According to other witnesses, the ground roll appeared normal. The Clarksburg Tower local controller said that he saw Flight 561 taxi to runway 21, and he cleared the flight for takeoff. He saw the aircraft during takeoff until it reached taxiway D, which is about 1,000 ft from the tower, but he did not see the aircraft after that point. He had spoken with the captain by telephone before the takeoff and had given him the 1215 special observation weather. He also radioed the same weather to Flight 561 when it was taxiing for takeoff. He stated that he saw no snow on the aircraft but that moderate snow was falling at the time. The Clarksburg approach controller said that he saw Flight 561 as it turned to line up for takeoff on runway 21. He watched the aircraft through binoculars and saw nothing abnormal as the takeoff roll began. He thought the aircraft was rotated about 1,900 ft down the runway and the liftoff appeared to him to be normal. He lost sight of the aircraft at 50 ft of altitude because of the poor visibility. He recalled that during Flight 561's takeoff, the runway lights were set at their highest intensity. He also stated that he saw no snow blow off the aircraft during its takeoff roll. Shortly after the aircraft disappeared from his view, he heard the sound of an emergency locator transmitter on 121.5 MHz. He asked the Cleveland Center controller if Flight 561 had established contact with him. Since his reply was negative, the approach controller closed the airport and activated the airport emergency plan. The control tower chief observed Flight 561 during takeoff. He lost sight of the aircraft when it was at an altitude of about 20 ft above the runway. At that time the aircraft's attitude appeared to be normal. A pilot in the terminal restaurant said that when the aircraft left the parking ramp, he saw about 1/2 to 1 in. of snow on the wing and tail surfaces of the aircraft. He said that the takeoff appeared normal; but, just before the aircraft disappeared into the overcast, it appeared to pitch up sharply. Another witness who had experience as a pilot was located on taxiway C about 75 ft from the runway. He thought the aircraft lifted off about 200 to 300 ft past taxiway C. Shortly after liftoff, he saw the right wing of the aircraft dip about 45°, then the left wing dipped about the same amount, and the right wing dipped again before the aircraft disappeared from his view about 100 ft above the runway. Shortly thereafter, he heard two separate and distinct sounds of impact. The witness heard no unusual engine noises from the aircraft. The aircraft crashed during daylight hours at an elevation of 1,203 ft ms1. A passenger and a crew member were killed while 23 other occupants were injured, some of them seriously.

While in cruising altitude along the east coast of Florida, one of the engine failed. The pilot reduced his altitude and ditched the airplane off West Palm Beach. He was seriously injured while the aircraft was lost.