Scheduled Revenue Flight

Shortly after takeoff from Lexington-Blue Grass Airport, while in initial climb, the left engine caught fire. The pilot elected to return for an emergency landing and made a turn when control was lost. The airplane dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion in a field. All nine occupants were killed, among them several doctors and scientists.
Crew:
Robert Yonk, pilot.
Passengers:
Dr. Richard Schweet,
Dr. R. C. Simonini,
Dr. Jerome Cohn,
Dr. S. O. Navarro,
G. Reynolds Watkins,
Richard H. Southwood Jr.,
Dr. Arnold Salop,
Max Horn.

On final approach to Bandar Abbas Airport, the airplane was too low for undetermined reason when it struck the ground and came to rest in flames few dozen yards short of runway. Eleven passengers were killed while 17 other occupants were evacuated. The aircraft was destroyed.

On 13th March 1967 Vickers Viscount aircraft ZS-CVA, "Rietbok", was on a scheduled public transport flight No. SA 406 from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg via East London and Bloemfontein. Its Estimated Time of Arrival at East London was 1714 GMT, but the weather there was poor. The captain had indicated that he would probably overfly East London, but that he would have a look at conditions there before deciding to do so. The last communication from the aircraft was when it notified East London Airport Control that it was "at 2,000 ft. with the coastline in sight". It is estimated that the aircraft was then between 20 and 15 nautical miles from the Airport and that the time was approximately 1709 GMT. At 1710.08 GMT the aircraft crashed into the sea. The approximate position of the crash was 33°13.45’ S. , 27°38.3’ E. On board were Captain Gordon Benjamin Lipawsky, First Officer Brian Albert Richard Trenwith, 3 cabin crew and 20 passengers. Air-sea rescue operations were put in hand promptly, but there were no survivors. Bits of floating wreckage, consisting mainly of cabin interior fittings, were recovered by naval vessels and other pieces were washed ashore. The main wreckage of the aircraft is believed to he lying at a depth of between 180 and 220 feet, approximately 1½ miles off-shore. Extensive salvage operations were attempted, but were hindered by murky water, a current up to 8 kts and dangerous sea conditions. The aircraft was lost and all 25 occupants were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 1,800 meters in snow showers, the crew informed ATC that the right engine caught fire. A minute later, the crew reported he was unable to extinguish the fire and elected to divert to Pokrovsk. While descending, the captain attempted an emergency landing when the airplane struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a snow covered forest located 35 km from Pokrovsk. Five passengers were rescued while 15 others occupants were killed.

The crew departed Milan in the afternoon on a flight to Cortina d'Ampezzo with an intermediate stop in Venice. Few minutes after takeoff from Venice-Marco Polo Airport, while flying above the Dolomites Mountain Range, the crew encountered foggy conditions. The pilot decided to reduce his altitude in an attempt to establish a visual contact with the ground when, in the Fadalto Valley, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of Mt Col Visentin (1,763 meters high). The wreckage was found on the Colcanin Hill, north of Vittorio Veneto. Both pilots and two passengers were killed while a third passenger was injured.

Fairchild F-27 N2712 operated on a flight from Klamath Falls to Seattle via Medford, North Bend and Portland. Because snow was falling at Klamath Falls, the aircraft was loaded in the hangar instead of on the ramp. There was some delay in pushing out the aircraft onto the ramp because the tow tractor lost traction in the snow. The aircraft was exposed to the falling snow for about 11 minutes before the plane was able to taxy out to runway 14. A few minutes later, at 05:01 the aircraft took off. During the takeoff roll, after rolling about 1000 feet, the aircraft gradually served to the left. The nose wheel left the ground 600 feet prior to the main gear at a point where the track was half way between the center of the runway and the left row of runway lights. The left main gear was about 12 feet off the left edge of the runway for a distance of 250 feet prior to lift-off. Just after lift-off the aircraft swerved sharply to the right and immediately back to the left. On climb out the aircraft tended to the left, despite several course corrections. After reaching 5250 feet, the altitude dropped again to 4700 feet. The aircraft continued to climb until it crashed on a steep ridge on the northwest slope of Stukel Mountain at an elevation of 5049 feet (1539 m). The F-27 was in a right wing low attitude when this wing contacted the mountain; the aircraft then cartwheeled up the 30° up slope of the mountain. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed.

Flight 553 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from New York to Chicago, Illinois, with en-route stops at Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Dayton, Ohio. The flight departed Pittsburgh for Dayton at 1125 hours Eastern Standard Time on an IFR flight plan and was operated under radar surveillance for the duration of the flight. As the flight approached the Dayton terminal area it was cleared to descend from FL 200, its cruising altitude, to 5 000 ft, and a transfer of radar control from Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Centre (ARTCC) to the Dayton Radar Approach Control facility (RAPCON) was made when the flight was approximately 8 miles northeast of the Urbana Intersection on Victor Airway 12 North. The Dayton RAPCON approach controller established radio contact with the flight at 1152:36 hours. The flight was again cleared to 5 000 ft, instructed to take a heading of 240° for a vector to the final approach course (ILS) and to report leaving 6 000 ft. At 1153:22 hours, the controller cleared the flight to descend to and maintain 3 000 ft and turn left to a heading of 230'. This was correctly acknowledged by the pilot- in-command at 1153:28 hours. Immediately after the issuance of this clearance the controller observed for the first time an unidentified radar target ahead and slightly to the right of the flight and issued at 1153:32 hours the following traffic advisory: "TWA five fifty three, roger, and traffic at twelve thirty, one mile, southbound, slow moving." This was acknowledged by the pilot-in-command at 1153:36 hours. Approximately 14 seconds later, the flight and the unidentified radar target merged, separated, changed shape on the radar screen and then disappeared. At 1154:02 hours the controller advised the flight that it was clear of traffic but no reply was received. Subsequent efforts to establish contact with the flight were unsuccessful. The unidentified radar return was from a Beechcraft Baron B-55 on a company business flight, en route from Detroit, Michigan, to Springfield, Ohio. The aircraft had departed Detroit City Airport at 1101 hours on a special VFR clearance to leave the control zone 5 miles from the airport. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. Approximately two minutes after take-off, the pilot reported on top of the smoke and haze and then left the Detroit tower frequency. No record of any further communication with any FAA communication facility or air traffic control facility could be found that related to the Beechcraft, nor was such communication required. The operator of Springfield Aviation Inc., at the Springfield Airport, testified that at approximately 1154 hours the pilot of the Beechcraft established radio contact with his office and requested a courtesy car. During this conversation the pilot stated that he would be landing shortly. There was no record of any subsequent radio contact with the aircraft. The aircraft collided at 1153:50 hours, in bright daylight, approximately 25 NM northeast of the Dayton Municipal Airport at an altitude of about 4 525 ft AMSL, and both aircraft crashed. The wreckage of the DC-9 was found in a wooded area. All 26 occupants in both aircraft were killed.

While descending to Toledo Airport and flying at an altitude of 7,000 feet, all four propeller blades on the right engine detached simultaneously. The blade number two penetrated the fuselage, causing a sudden cabin decompression. The pilot lost control of the airplane that entered a dive and eventually crashed in an open field located two miles southeast of Marseilles, Ohio. The aircraft was totally destroyed and none of the 38 occupants survived the crash.

VARIG Flight RG837 departed Rome-Fiumicino Airport, Italy, at 21:08 hours GMT on a flight to Monrovia, Liberia. The flight was uneventful until the crew reported at FL45, five miles from the Roberts VOR. ATC then cleared the flight to descend further down to 3000 feet on the VOR and reported a QNH of 1009 mb. The QNH was read back correctly, but the crew did not mention the descent clearance. The pilot-in-command continued to the VOR at FL45 (4500 feet). After sighting the aerodrome runway lights from vertically overhead, the pilot informed the co-pilot that despite the fact that he had the runway completely in sight he would make an IFR/VOR procedure. A VOR/Locator instrument let-down was commenced from 4500 feet over the VOR at an indicated airspeed of 210 slowing to 170 kt, descending at a rate of between 500 to 700 feet per minute until the aircraft arrived at a point inbound over the coastline at 1800 feet on a heading of 047- degrees with the gear down and 35-deg flaps for landing on runway 04. At this point the co-pilot reported: "Runway in sight a little to the left". During the approach from the coast to the airport, the pilot did not make any use of the DME. After the procedure turn, the aircraft was on the correct VOR radial and a smooth approach was carried out during which the aircraft was flown manually. After the procedure turn, the co-pilot called each 100 feet of altitude and the speed and he checked the indication of the vertical speed indicators. At an altitude of about 1000 feet, flaps were put in the full down position and shortly thereafter, at an altitude of 700-800 feet, the aircraft entered some stratus and, further down, fog patches. When entering the stratus layer, the captain told the co-pilot that it was no longer necessary to report altitude and speed and was instructed to look outside and to report as soon as he could see the runway. Over the FR locator beacon, the altitude was about 800 feet, whereas his correct altitude should have been 520 feet. He then increased his rate of descent to between 1200-1500 ft/min, by reduction of power and by pitching the nose of the aircraft down. About 15 seconds after passing FR the co-pilot reported runway in sight, saying also that the visibility was poor and that they were too low. Descent was continued until the DC-8 impacted the ground 6023 feet from the threshold of runway 04, 180 feet to the right of the runway extended centre line with the aircraft coming to rest after a ground slide of approximately 850 feet. The aircraft caught fire and was totally destroyed. A crew members, 50 passengers and five people on a house were killed.

Crashed on landing. No casualties.