Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (June 1956)
New York-Idlewild International Airport (IDL/KIDL) | |
Destination | Caracas Airport (CCS/SVMI) |
---|---|
Passengers | 64 |
Crew | 10 |
Fatalities | 74 |
Survivors | 0 |
Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 was a regularly scheduled
only ten days later.The flight
The accident aircraft was a
By 1:25 a.m., the Super Constellation, with its escorts in tow, was off the coast of New Jersey and beginning its descent into New York. Captain Plata requested and received permission to dump fuel, and began doing so at 1:29. Almost immediately, the crews of both escort aircraft observed the streaming fuel catch fire and erupt in a large fireball. The airliner swerved violently to the right, nosed over, and plunged into the sea, exploding on impact. Commander Hancox reported its rate of descent at 4,000 feet per minute, and that it was in a 90-degree bank at the moment of impact. Captain Fisher described the descent of the blazing aircraft as like "a falling star."
The accident occurred 32 miles east of
Investigation and aftermath
The debris and remains recovered the night of the crash provided no clues as to the origin of the sudden fire; initial speculation was that fuel vapor may have come into contact with hot
The investigation spent considerable time analyzing the events of the fuel dump in order to identify the likeliest source of the ignition. Hancox reported that as soon as Captain Plata commenced dumping fuel, Hancox observed sparks and flame in the vicinity of the #3 engine, the inboard engine on the starboard (right) wing, opposite the engine with the propeller problem. The
Ruth Noel, widow of passenger Marshal L. Noel, subsequently sought damages from both the airline and United Aircraft (owners of Hamilton Standard, the manufacturer of the failed propeller). In the course of the litigation, evidence was introduced that within moments of the fuel dump commencing, the faulty #2 propeller broke free of its mountings and slashed into the fuselage. The double seat in the area of the impact was apparently ejected from the aircraft at this time, as it was found some distance from the spot where YV-C-AMS crashed; it had been cut in half from top to bottom by a heavy object. The bodies of its two occupants were among the few recovered from the scene; both had suffered leg amputations. Expert testimony provided two possible scenarios for ignition of the jettisoning fuel:
- When the #2 propeller separated, the airstream blew sparks from its broken hub or shaft backwards into the plume of fuel;
- When the #2 propeller slashed downward through the fuselage, it sliced through the cabin floor into the #5 fuel tank (center tank), immediately igniting the fuel within. The flames blew out of the fuselage into the fuel plume.[6][7]
In May 1959, propeller pitch-lock mechanisms, designed to arrest the pitch of the blades and prevent them from opening further when an overspeed is imminent, became mandatory on U.S.
Second crash
Six months later, another operation of Flight 253 ended in tragedy when it crashed into a mountain on approach to Caracas. All 25 aboard were killed.[10][11]
References
- ^ "Search Vessels Find 6 of 74 Crash Dead". Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. 1956-06-21. p. 1. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description 20-JUN-1956". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ "74 Killed as Venezuelan Airliner Dives in Flames into Ocean off Asbury Park". Trenton Evening Times. 1956-06-20. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ISBN 0845347772.
- ^ "Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description 20-JUN-1956". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ "NOEL v. UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 219 F.Supp. 556 (1963) Ruth M. NOEL et al., Libellants, v. UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, Respondent. No. 1781. United States District Court D. Delaware. July 9, 1963". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ "Ruth M. Noel and William H. Frantz, Executors of the Estate of Marshal L. Noel, Deceased, Appellants in No. 14727, v. United Aircraft Corporation, Appellant in No. 14730., 342 F.2d 232 (3rd Cir. 1965)". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "NOEL v. UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 219 F.Supp. 556 (1963) Ruth M. NOEL et al., Libellants, v. UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, Respondent. No. 1781. United States District Court D. Delaware. July 9, 1963". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ISBN 185260526X.
- ^ "Fatal Plane Crash in Venezuela Probed". Pittsburgh Press. 1956-11-26. p. 16. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ "Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description 27-NOV-1956". Retrieved 8 April 2012.
External links
- ICAO Circular 56-AN/51
- "Coast Guard Flier Tells of Seeing Crash that Killed 74". Seattle Daily Times. 1956-06-20. pp. 1, 16. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- Haine, Edgar A. (2000). Disaster in the Air. Cranbury, NJ: Cornwall Books. pp. 200–204. ISBN 0845347772.
- "Gendisasters: Asbury Park, NJ (Off) Plane Plunges Into Ocean, June 1956". 2007-12-12. Retrieved 1 April 2012.