1961 President Airlines Douglas DC-6 crash

1961 President Airlines Douglas DC-6 crash
	Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupants	83
Passengers	77
Crew	6
Fatalities	83
Survivors	0

The 1961 President Airlines Douglas DC-6 crash occurred on the night of September 10, 1961, when a President Airlines Douglas DC-6B named Theodore Roosevelt^[1] outbound from Shannon, Ireland crashed into the nearby River Shannon shortly after takeoff, killing all 83 people on board. To date, the crash remains the deadliest one in Irish territory.

Aircraft and occupants

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Douglas DC-6B registered N90773. It first flew in 1953 and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines. The aircraft's occupants on the accident flight consisted of 77 passengers and six crew members.^[2] The passengers were mostly German farmers on their way to the U.S. for a three-week study tour.

Accident

The aircraft was on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from

Newfoundland for refueling. Shortly after takeoff from Shannon Airport's runway 24, the pilots were cleared for a right-hand turn, but they instead turned left and kept turning until the aircraft had reached a bank angle of about 90 degrees or more. Unable to recover, the aircraft plummeted into the River Shannon 5,000 ft. from the end of the runway. There were no survivors among the 83 passengers and crew. Subsequent investigations indicate that the crash probably resulted from a malfunctioning attitude indicator, a fault in the starboard ailerons, or both. Poor weather conditions and crew fatigue were also cited as possible contributing factors.^[2]^[3]

References

^ Vogt, Ronny (1997). Irish Crash Airmails. Bray: Irish Airmail Society. p. 281.
^ ^a ^b "Aviation Safety Network".
^ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 44.

External links

A photo of the accident aircraft, taken one week before the accident
Video of President Airlines Douglas crash at Shannon Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Clare Herald

52°40′47″N 8°56′35″W / 52.6797°N 8.9430°W / 52.6797; -8.9430

[Airmail_book-1] Vogt, Ronny (1997). Irish Crash Airmails. Bray: Irish Airmail Society. p. 281.

[ASN-2] "Aviation Safety Network".

[3] Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 44.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Ireland
1940s	TWA Flight 6963 (December 1946) Pan Am Flight 1-10 (April 1948)
1950s	KLM Flight 633 (September 1954) KLM Flight 607-E (August 1958*) Pan Am Clipper Panama (June 1959)
1960s	Alitalia Flight 618 (February 1960) President Airlines Douglas DC-6 (September 1961) Aer Lingus Flight 712 (March 1968)
1970s	British Army Gazelle downing (February 1978#) American Airlines Flight 293 (June 1979)
1980s	Air India Flight 182 (June 1985*) British Army Lynx shootdown (June 1988#)
1990s	British Army Gazelle shootdown (February 1990#) British Army Lynx shootdown (March 1994#) Irish Marine Emergency Service Rescue 111 (July 1999)
2010s	Manx2 Flight 7100 (February 2011) Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 (March 2017)
Accidents with the pound sign (#) occurred in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, while others occurred in the Republic of Ireland. Accidents with asteriks (*) occurred in the ocean near Ireland

Aircraft and occupants

Accident

See also

References

External links