American Airlines Flight 476

Last updated
American Airlines Flight 476
Convair CV-240, American Airlines JP7312361.jpg
An American Airlines Convair CV-240, similar to the accident aircraft
accident
DateAugust 4, 1955 (1955-08-04)
SummaryIn-flight fire
Site Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
37°45′40″N92°9′22″W / 37.76111°N 92.15611°W / 37.76111; -92.15611
Aircraft
Aircraft type Convair CV-240-0
Aircraft nameFlagship Philadelphia
Operator American Airlines
Registration N94221
Flight origin Tulsa Municipal Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1st stopover Joplin, Missouri
2nd stopover Springfield, Missouri
Last stopover St. Louis, Missouri
Destination LaGuardia Airport, New York City, New York
Passengers27
Crew3
Fatalities30
Survivors0

American Airlines Flight 476 was a passenger flight operated by American Airlines from Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Laguardia Airport in New York City, New York. On August 4, 1955, the Convair CV-240-0 crashed while attempting an emergency landing in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, killing all 30 passengers and crew. The Civil Aeronautics Board determined that the accident was caused by the installation of a damaged cylinder.

Contents

Background

The aircraft was a 7-year-old Convair CV-240 that had logged 14,865 flight hours at the time of the accident. It was powered by two Pratt and Whitney R-2800-83AM4A engines that had logged 13,346 and 12,875 flight hours, driving each a Hamilton Standard propeller. [1]

The captain was 45-year-old Hugh C. Barron, who had been employed by American Airlines since 1942. At the time of the accident, he had logged 15,540 flight hours, including around 5,000 in the Convair CV-240. The first officer was 35-year-old William G. Gates, who had logged around 8,500 flight hours, 2,500 of which were in the Convair CV-240. He had been employed by American Airlines since 1944. The flight's sole stewardess was 21-year-old Thelma R. Ballard, who had been employed by American Airlines for two months. [1]

Accident

At 10:06 am on August 4, 1955, Flight 476 departed Tulsa Municipal Airport bound for Laguardia Airport, carrying 8 passengers and 3 crew. Along the way, the aircraft made intermediary stops in Joplin and Springfield, Missouri. At Springfield, 21 additional passengers boarded the plane, while 2 departed. [1]

Flight 476 took off from Springfield just before noon. The aircraft was scheduled to make another stop in St. Louis. At 12:17, Captain Barron attempted to radio for help, asking, "Does anybody read 476?" Ground crew in Springfield attempted to reach out to Flight 476, but they received no response. Afterward, ground crew in St. Louis, and two other nearby aircraft, including one near Springfield, heard the pilot of Flight 476 announce that their No. 2 engine was on fire. At 12:20, the aircraft near Springfield heard Flight 476 ask, "Springfield, are you reading 476? We have bad engine fire." [1] [2] An army pilot then saw the aircraft attempt to make an emergency landing in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and alerted the tower, who gave it clearance to land. However, at 12:23, the right wing detached from Flight 476, causing it to crash in a wooded area half a mile from Runway 14. [1]

After the crash rescue crew attempted to reach the aircraft. However, the dense forest prevented rescue equipment from reaching the aircraft until army engineers bulldozed a road to it. They found that all 30 passengers and crew perished. [1]

Investigation

Soon after the crash, Civil Aeronautics Board employees arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the accident. They found that the No. 12 cylinder of the right engine had a broken barrel. A closer examination at the National Bureau of Standards lab found that eight of the cylinder's hold-down studs had failed after previously being installed in another engine. Inspectors were aware of this and sent the cylinder to Tulsa for overhaul. Before the crash, American Airlines required that cylinders with more than two broken studs be scrapped or returned to their manufacturer. They also required that cylinders going through overhaul be inspected using sophisticated equipment. Instead, an airline inspector examined the cylinder visually, meaning neither rule was followed. At the time of the accident, the cylinder logged only a few flight hours. [1] [2]

Aftermath

After the accident, American Airlines required all cylinders with faulty studs to be mutilated to prevent employees from returning them to service without proper repair. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convair 990 Coronado</span> American four-engined jet airliner (1962–1987)

The Convair 990 Coronado is a retired American narrow-body four-engined jet airliner produced between 1961 and 1963 by the Convair division of American company General Dynamics. It was a stretched version of its earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines: the 990 was lengthened by 10 ft (3.0 m), which increased the number of passengers from between 88 and 110 in the 880 to between 96 and 121. This was still fewer passengers than the contemporary Boeing 707 or Douglas DC-8, although the 990 was 25–35 mph (40–56 km/h) faster than either in cruise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 625</span> 1976 aviation accident

American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727-100, crashed at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on April 27, 1976, while on a domestic scheduled passenger flight originating at T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island and ending at Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, with an intermediate stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport. 37 out of the 88 passengers on board died in the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waynesville–St. Robert Regional Airport</span> Airport in Fort Leonard Wood

Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport, also known as Forney Field, is a public and military use airport located at Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The airport's passenger terminal is operated under the control of the U.S. Army and general aviation is under the direction of a board named by the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert. Formerly known as Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field, it is served by one commercial airline with scheduled service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Airlines</span> US airline (1949–1967) that merged into Frontier


Central Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled passenger airline operating in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to operate charter and fixed base services in Oklahoma, but was not granted an air operator's certificate until 1946 and did not begin scheduled flights until September 15, 1949, just before the certificate expired. Central was then headquartered at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline was eventually acquired by and merged into the original Frontier Airlines which continued and expanded its network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Continent Airlines</span>

Mid-Continent Airlines was a trunk carrier, a scheduled airline which operated in the central United States from the 1930s until 1952 when it was acquired by and merged with Braniff International Airways. Mid-Continent Airlines was originally founded as a flight school at Rickenbacker Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, during 1928, by Arthur Hanford Jr., a dairy operator. The Hanford Produce Company was the largest creamery in the United States with over 100 trucks in operation. The company was primarily a dairy but also sold ice cream and poultry. The Hanford's also founded and built the new Rickenbacker Airport and operated eight gas stations and several service repair garages under the name Hanford's, Inc. The airport was a division of Hanford's, Inc., but the service stations and garages were later sold to finance airline operations. Mid-Continent was based in Kansas City, Missouri at the time of its acquisition by Braniff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel starvation</span> Problem affecting internal combustion engines

In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or incorrect operation, leading to loss of power or engine stoppage. There is still fuel in the tank(s), but it is unable to get to the engine(s) in sufficient quantity. By contrast, fuel exhaustion is an occurrence in which the vehicle in question becomes completely devoid of usable fuel, with results similar to those of fuel starvation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Central Airlines</span> US airline (1944–1979), merged to form Republic Airlines

North Central Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline in the Midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Herman the duck" logo was born on Wisconsin Central's first Lockheed Electra 10A, NC14262, in 1948. North Central's headquarters were moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Central Airlines Flight 458</span> 1968 aviation accident

On December 27, 1968, North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashed into a hangar while attempting a night landing in poor weather at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Of the 41 passengers and four crew members, only 17 passengers and one crew member survived. One person was killed and six were injured on the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision</span> 1972 aviation accident

On December 20, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 575 and Delta Air Lines Flight 954 collided on a runway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Ten people died – all on the North Central aircraft – and 17 were injured in the accident. This was the second major airliner accident to happen in Chicago in December 1972; the other was United Air Lines Flight 553, which crashed 12 days earlier on approach to Midway Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Airlines Flight 258</span> 1958 aviation accident

Northeast Airlines Flight 258 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from New York's La Guardia Airport that crashed while trying to land at Nantucket Memorial Airport, Massachusetts, at 11:34 on the night of August 15, 1958. All three crew-members and 20 of the 31 passengers were killed, among them Gordon Dean, former chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Miami Airlines C-46 crash</span>

On December 16, 1951, a Miami Airlines Curtiss C-46 Commando airliner crashed in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, shortly after taking off from nearby Newark Airport. All 58 people on board were killed. At the time, it was the second-deadliest aviation accident on US soil, behind Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 711</span> 1955 aviation accident

American Airlines Flight 711 was a scheduled flight departing from Newark, New Jersey to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with several intermediate stops, Springfield, Missouri being one of them. On March 20, 1955, the aircraft operating the service, a Convair CV-240-0, registration N94234, crashed into a muddy field on approach to land at Springfield-Branson Regional Airport near Springfield, Missouri, killing 13 of the 35 aboard, and injuring the other 22 on board. Of the three crew members, the pilot survived, and the co-pilot and stewardess did not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny Airlines Flight 604</span> 1965 aviation accident

Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 was a regularly scheduled daily flight from Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey via DuBois, Philipsburg, Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Forty occupants were on board when during the Williamsport to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leg a right engine failure and subsequent failure to follow engine out procedures by the flight crew caused the aircraft to crash northeast of the Williamsport Regional Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Sabena Convair CV-240 crash</span>

On 14 October 1953, a Sabena Convair CV-240 crashed 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Frankfurt, West Germany, shortly after taking off from Frankfurt International Airport. All 44 occupants on board the aircraft were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802</span> March 1974 plane crash near Bishop, California

Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802 was a charter flight from Bishop, California to Burbank, California that crashed into the White Mountains on the evening of March 13, 1974. The aircraft, carrying a movie production crew, crashed for undetermined reasons, killing all 36 occupants on board. To this day, the crash remains one of only three aviation accidents to be unsolved by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and it stands as the fourth-deadliest crash of a Convair CV-440 to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul Flight 144</span>

The Cruzeiro do Sul Flight 144 was a domestic commercial route operated by Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul, departing from Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro, with stops in Florianópolis, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and São Paulo. On the night of May 3, 1963, the aircraft operating this route, a Convair 340 registration PP-CDW, took off from Congonhas Airport in São Paulo at 19:30, bound for Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after takeoff, the crew received an audible warning of an engine fire and attempted to return to the airport. During the maneuver, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed, resulting in the deaths of 37 occupants and injuries to another thirteen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 327</span> 1957 aviation accident

American Airlines Flight 327 was a scheduled flight between T. F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island and Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with intermediate stops in Boston, New York City, Syracuse, New York, Rochester, New York, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Springfield, Missouri, and Joplin, Missouri. On January 6, 1957, the Convair CV-240-0 performing the flight crashed while performing an instrument approach to Tulsa Municipal Airport, killing one of the occupants and injuring seven. Weather conditions in the area were poor, and the aircraft descended through dense clouds and fog. As it approached the runway, it flew lower than the intended path and crashed into the ground 3.6 miles (5.8 km) north of the approach end of the runway. The probable cause of the crash was determined to be the captain's lack of alertness in allowing the first officer to continue an instrument descent to an altitude too low to permit terrain clearance.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "American Airlines, INC., Convair 240, N 94221 For Leonard Wood, Missouri, August 4, 1955" (PDF). baaa-acro.com. Civil Aeronautics Board. Retrieved 20 June 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . - Version at the National Transportation Library.
  2. 1 2 3 "Science: The Case of Flight 476". Time. 26 December 1955. Retrieved 20 June 2021.