Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101

Last updated
Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard N2969.jpg
The aircraft involved in the crash, taken in 2005, months before the accident.
Accident
DateDecember 19, 2005 (2005-12-19)
SummaryIn-flight structural failure due to metal fatigue cracking and poor maintenance
Site Government Cut, Port of Miami, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
25°45′38″N80°07′26″W / 25.76056°N 80.12389°W / 25.76056; -80.12389
Aircraft
Aircraft type Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard
Operator Chalk's Ocean Airways
Registration N2969
Flight origin Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Florida, United States
Stopover Miami Seaplane Base, Florida, United States
Destination North Bimini Airport, Bahamas
Occupants20
Passengers18
Crew2
Fatalities20
Survivors0

Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 was an aircraft crash that occurred off Miami Beach, Florida, in the United States on December 19, 2005. All 18 passengers and both of the crew members on board the 1947 Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard died in the crash, which was attributed to metal fatigue on the starboard wing resulting in separation of the wing from the fuselage. [1] : vii 

Contents

It was the only fatal passenger incident in Chalk's Ocean Airways history. [2]

Accident details

On December 19, 2005, Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States to Bimini, Bahamas, crashed off Miami Beach, Florida, shortly after takeoff from an unscheduled stop at the Miami Seaplane Base. [3] [1] : 1  Witnesses saw white smoke billowing from the aircraft before the right wing ripped off and the aircraft plunged into the ocean. [4]

The aircraft crashed and sank in Government Cut channel, a waterway that connects the Port of Miami with the Atlantic Ocean. Government Cut was closed to shipping until 6:30 p.m. on December 20, stranding at least three cruise ships. [5]

The accident aircraft at Bimini seaplane base, Bahamas, in November 1989. Chalks Turbo Mallard at Bimini.jpg
The accident aircraft at Bimini seaplane base, Bahamas, in November 1989.

The aircraft was a 58-year-old Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard manufactured in 1947. [3] The captain was Michele Marks, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida. Marks had been promoted to captain a year prior to the accident. First Officer Paul DeSanctis, 34, of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, had joined the airline eight months before the accident. Marks had 2,820 flight hours under her belt and DeSanctis had accumulated 1,420 flight hours. Both pilots died in the crash. [3]

Flight 101's recovered right wing. Chalk's Ocean NTSB.jpg
Flight 101's recovered right wing.

On December 22, 2005 the NTSB issued a press release that included pictures showing metal fatigue on the wing that broke off. [6] The discovery of the metal fatigue in the wing led to Chalk's Ocean Airways voluntary grounding of the rest of its fleet for further inspection. [7] [8]

On May 30, 2007, Reuters reported that "The National Transportation Safety Board asserted Chalk Ocean Airways failed to identify and properly repair fatigue cracks on the 1947 Grumman Turbo Mallard. The plane lost its right wing a few minutes after take-off for the Bahamas at 500 feet (152 m) and plunged into the shipping channel adjacent to the Port of Miami on December 19, 2005." The safety board, in its final report on the probable cause of the crash, noted numerous maintenance-related problems on the aircraft and another owned by the company, raising questions about Chalk's Ocean Airways' aircraft maintenance practices. "The signs of structural problems were there but not addressed," safety board chairman Mark Rosenker said. The safety board also said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to detect and correct the airline's maintenance shortfalls. Regulations exempt older seaplanes from rigorous structural oversight. Chalk's had no comment on the safety board's findings. The FAA said it had no indication that the airline's maintenance program was in question. "The regulations are crystal clear that the carrier has primary responsibility for the airworthiness of (its) fleet and that includes making appropriate structural repairs," the agency said in a statement. [9]

Probable cause

The aircraft plunging down after breaking up in-flight. Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 In-flight breakup and in-flight fire.jpg
The aircraft plunging down after breaking up in-flight.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was a fatigue failure in the right-wing initiated by a crack in a span-wise stringer close to the wing root. [1] : 55  The crack had been detected running through a slosh hole (an aperture in the wall of the stringer that allows fuel to flow from one side of the stringer to the other) and seemingly repaired earlier, but the repair was eventually proven ineffective.[ failed verification ]

The Mallard was designed in the 1940s with a so-called 'wet wing' where the fuel tanks, instead of being separate items within the wing, are constructed from sealed-off portions of the wing structure itself. This eliminates the additional weight of the tanks and also allows more fuel to be contained within a given wing size. The drawback of this form of construction is that all the joints around the tank seams must be sealed in order to ensure the tank is fuel-tight. In addition, the normal flexing of the wing in flight tends to open seams over extended periods, leading to fuel leaks.[ failed verification ] Grumman, the manufacturer, had issued warnings as early as 1963 about fuel leaks from the Mallard's wing being indicative of possible structural problems. [1] : 35 

The accident aircraft had, for several months, suffered repeated fuel leaks [1] : 41  from both wings that had been remedied by the operator by repeatedly applying a sealant to the inside seams of the fuel tanks. In applying the sealant inside the right wing tank the operator inadvertently applied the material over a damaged lower stringer (an important, load-bearing structural member of the wing) in such a way as to conceal a fatigue crack. The crack was discovered during previous maintenance, and an attempt was made to repair the crack by grinding it out. In applying the sealant, the operator was required to access the inside of the fuel tank using small removable inspection hatches on the top surface of the wing. This resulted in poor visibility and awkward conditions for working inside the tank. The sealant concealed the previous repair to the stringer and made subsequent checking for further damage to this component (i.e., any crack growth) impossible.

The first outward sign of possible significant problems with the accident aircraft was when a chord-wise (running from the front of the wing towards the rear) crack was noticed in the skin of the lower surface of the right-wing at the root. After several failed attempts at stopping the crack by drilling stop-holes, the crack was repeatedly repaired by affixing doublers (metal patches intended to take over the load from the damaged part, a normal repair procedure for minor skin damage), which were riveted over the cracked skin. However, the crack continued to grow, requiring longer and longer doublers to be fitted. Although the skin crack was slowly getting longer it was not thought to be anything other than a skin problem, which could be dealt with by affixing a doubler.

Like most aircraft of the period, the Mallard was built using an aluminum stressed skin construction. Unlike earlier fabric covered aircraft where the fabric covering is merely for aerodynamic purposes and contributes little to the overall strength of the airframe, the metal skin itself carries part of the flight loads and is stressed during flight. Many such aircraft develop minor skin cracks over time; provided appropriate action is taken to repair any cracking, the safety of the aircraft is not compromised.

The unseen cracked stringer on the accident aircraft allowed the right wing to flex more during flight which increased the bending forces at the root such that the visible skin crack slowly increased in length with each subsequent flight.

The crack in the underside of the wing grew in length until the wing was so weakened it was unable to support the flight loads during the accident flight, and the wing separated. This caused the fuel contained within the wing to be released and ignited, resulting in the fire seen by witnesses. By sheer chance, a tourist from New York was able to capture video of Flight 101's final moments on his cell phone as the plane went plunging towards the ocean. The footage clearly showed the airplane and the right burning wing falling on two separate spots as they hit the water.

On examination of the wreckage, investigators discovered that, in addition to the external doublers, internal doublers had also been affixed to the root area of both wings. However, maintenance records for these repairs were not available. Investigators also concluded that the cracked stringer that initiated the wing loss had probably failed completely some considerable amount of time prior to the accident, leading to a substantial weakening of the wing structure.

Age of fleet

The accident aircraft had been built in 1947 and the manufacturer, Grumman (now Northrop Grumman), had produced only 60 examples of this type. Grumman ceased production of the aircraft in 1951, leaving operators with no source of new spare parts. Chalk's Ocean Airways had to resort to acquiring several un-airworthy Mallards to cannibalize for spares. In addition, the sort of aircraft used for Chalk's operations, a passenger-carrying flying boat, is of a type no longer manufactured by aircraft companies, so the option of replacing the aging Mallard fleet with newer designs was not available. At the time of the accident, the accident aircraft was 58 years old, had accumulated more than 31,000 total flight hours, and had completed over 40,000 take-off/landing cycles. [1] : 5 

When certified in 1944, the Mallard design was required to satisfy a static strength analysis. However, no fatigue requirement was yet in force, as no satisfactory fatigue analysis method had been developed at that time. [1] : 50  The Mallard therefore had not been designed with any 'safe life' figure, unlike most civil transport aircraft today, which have designed fatigue lives of around 65,000–70,000 hours, or twenty years. In addition, no authorized repair manual for the aircraft type had been issued by the manufacturer and responsibility for authorizing repair techniques having been acquired by an outside company after Grumman discontinued support for the type.

The accident aircraft had been acquired by Chalk's in 1980 and had been upgraded to a G-73T Turbo Mallard in July 1981 when its original Pratt & Whitney Wasp H piston engines had been replaced with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprops. [1] : 5 

Pilots' concerns

As a result of several incidents involving Chalk's aircraft, concern had arisen among Chalk's pilots about the state of repair of the aircraft. [10] Pilots had experienced several engine failures, and in one incident an elevator control cable snapped in flight, although fortunately the pilot was able to land that aircraft safely. This led to several of Chalk's pilots reconsidering their position in the company, and one, having suffered two engine failures during his period there, resigned his position over what he perceived as persistent maintenance issues with the fleet. [1] : 31–33 

After the accident, all remaining Mallards in the Chalk's fleet were grounded. Subsequently, all were discovered to be suffering from severe corrosion with many showing signs of sub-standard repair during maintenance. Two years later, Chalk's, one of the world's oldest airlines, went out of business.

Passengers and crew

Nationality [1] : 1 PassengersCrewTotal
Bahamas11011
United States729
Total18220

Twenty people — 18 passengers and two crew members — were on board. There were no survivors. Just over half of the passengers were Bimini locals returning from Christmas shopping. [3] [11] Three of the passengers were infant babies who were situated on the laps of their parents/guardians. [1] : 1 

The last body found was recovered by a fisherman near Key Biscayne, nine miles from the crash site. The bodies of all the other passengers were found still strapped in their seats. [3]

Dramatization

The story of the disaster was featured on the ninth season of the Canadian National Geographic Channel show Mayday (known as Air Disasters in the US, Mayday in Ireland and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and the rest of world). The episode is entitled "Cracks In The System". [12]

Chalks Plane N2969 was used in the pilot episode Brother's Keeper of the television series Miami Vice, in which a drug dealer used the seaplane to evade Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs & James "Sonny" Crockett. [13]

N2969 was also used in the season 4 episode of Miami Vice, Baseballs of Death.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Flight 800</span> Flight that exploded and crashed in 1996 off the coast of New York

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at approximately 8:31 p.m. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, on a scheduled international passenger flight to Rome with a stopover in Paris. All 230 people on board died in the crash; it is the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. Accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning amid speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash.

de Havilland Comet First commercial jet airliner

The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air France Flight 4590</span> 2000 plane crash of an Air France Concorde in Paris

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet on an international charter flight from Paris to New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. It was the only fatal Concorde accident during its 27-year operational history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Airlines Flight 232</span> 1989 aviation accident

United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine due to an unnoticed manufacturing defect in the engine's fan disk, which resulted in the loss of many flight controls. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 112 died during the accident, while 184 people survived. 13 of the passengers were uninjured. It was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in the history of United Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloha Airlines Flight 243</span> 1988 Hawaii aviation incident

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, caused by part of the fuselage breaking due to poor maintenance and metal fatigue. The plane was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. The one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured. The substantial damage inflicted by the decompression, the loss of one cabin crew member, and the safe landing of the aircraft established the incident as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.

Chalk's International Airlines, formerly Chalk's Ocean Airways, was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in unincorporated Broward County, Florida near Fort Lauderdale. It operated scheduled seaplane services to the Bahamas. Its main base was Miami Seaplane Base (MPB) until 2001, with a hub at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. On September 30, 2007, the United States Department of Transportation revoked the flying charter for the airline, and later that year, the airline ceased operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman G-21 Goose</span> Amphibious flying boat

The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service. During World War II, the Goose became an effective transport for the US military, as well as serving with many other air forces. During hostilities, the Goose took on an increasing number of combat and training roles.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman G-73 Mallard</span> Type of aircraft

The Grumman G-73 Mallard is a medium, twin-engined amphibious aircraft. Many have been modified by replacing the original Pratt & Whitney Wasp H radial engines with modern turboprop engines. Manufactured from 1946 to 1951, production ended when Grumman's larger SA-16 Albatross was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ValuJet Airlines</span> Defunct ultra low-cost airline of the United States (1992–1997)

ValuJet Airlines was an ultra low-cost airline in the United States that operated from 1992 until 1997, when it was rebranded as AirTran Airlines after joining forces with AirTran Airways. It was headquartered in unincorporated Clayton County, Georgia, that operated regularly scheduled domestic and international flights in the Eastern United States and Canada during the 1990s. The company was founded in 1992 and was notorious for its sometimes dangerous cost-cutting measures. All of the airline's planes were purchased used from other airlines; very little training was provided to workers; and contractors were used for maintenance and other services. The company quickly developed a reputation for safety issues. In 1995, the military refused ValuJet's bid to fly military personnel over safety worries, and officials at the FAA wanted the airline to be grounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spar (aeronautics)</span> Main structural member of the wing of an aircraft

In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings while on the ground. Other structural and forming members such as ribs may be attached to the spar or spars, with stressed skin construction also sharing the loads where it is used. There may be more than one spar in a wing or none at all. Where a single spar carries most of the force, it is known as the main spar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Express Flight 2574</span> 1991 aviation accident

Continental Express Flight 2574 was a scheduled domestic passenger airline flight operated by Britt Airways from Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas to Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. On September 11, 1991, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop, registered N33701, crashed while initiating its landing sequence, killing all 14 people on board. The aircraft wreckage hit an area near Eagle Lake, Texas, approximately 65 miles (105 km) west-southwest of the airport.

A wet wing is an aerospace engineering technique where an aircraft's wing structure is sealed and used as a fuel tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 United States airtanker crashes</span> Fatal aviation accidents in California and Colorado

In 2002, two large airtankers – a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and a Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer – crashed about a month apart while performing aerial firefighting operations. These crashes prompted a review of the maintenance and use of the entire U.S. large airtanker fleet. Ultimately, the whole fleet was grounded, dramatically reducing the resources available to fight major wildfires. Both aircraft were owned by Hawkins & Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming and operated under contract to the United States Forest Service (USFS). The crashes occurred in one of the worst fire seasons in the last half century, one in which 73,000 fires burned 7.2 million acres (29,000 km2) of land.

Miami Seaplane Base is a public-use seaplane base located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the central business district of Miami on Watson Island in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Airlines Flight 143</span> 1990 aviation accident

Philippine Airlines Flight 143 (PR143) was a domestic flight from Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport, Manila, to Mandurriao Airport, Iloilo City, Philippines. On May 11, 1990, at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport the Boeing 737-300 assigned to the route suffered an explosion in the central fuel tank and was consumed by fire in as little as four minutes. This accident marked the first hull loss of a 737-300.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1945 Australian National Airways Stinson crash</span>

On 31 January 1945 a Stinson Model A aircraft departed from Melbourne for a flight of 127 nautical miles (235 km) to Kerang, Victoria—the first leg of an Australian National Airways regular scheduled service to Broken Hill, New South Wales. It crashed 50 nmi (93 km) from Melbourne. All ten occupants were killed in the accident. The aircraft was one of four Stinsons imported in 1936 by Airlines of Australia (AoA). Three had now crashed with the loss of 17 lives, and the fourth would not be permitted to fly again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx Express Flight 630</span> 2006 aviation accident

FedEx Express Flight 630 was a regular scheduled cargo flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee. On July 28, 2006, the McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F operating the flight, crashed upon landing due to a landing gear failure. The main left undercarriage collapsed seven seconds after touchdown causing the MD-10 to roll off the runway out of control. The aircraft finally came to a stop near taxiway M4 and caught fire. The fire consumed the wing and port engine and the crash and evacuation left everyone onboard injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Airways Flight 2276</span> 2015 aircraft fire at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas

British Airways Flight 2276 was a scheduled international passenger service from Las Vegas to London. On 8 September 2015, the Boeing 777-200ER operating the flight suffered an uncontained engine failure and fire in the left (#1) GE90 engine during take-off from Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport, prompting an aborted take-off and the evacuation of all passengers and crew. All 170 people on board survived, but 20 were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynamic Airways Flight 405</span> 2015 aviation incident in the United States

On October 29, 2015, Dynamic Airways Flight 405, a Boeing 767 on a scheduled passenger service from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Caracas, Venezuela, suffered a fire while taxiing for departure. All 101 passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft and survived, but twenty-two of them were injured.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "In-flight Separation of Right Wing, Flying Boat, Inc. (doing business as Chalk's Ocean Airways) Flight 101, Grumman Turbo Mallard (G-73T), N2969, Port of Miami, Florida, December 19, 2005" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. May 30, 2007. NTSB/AAR-07/04. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  2. ↑ "Associated Press article on the accident". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2005-12-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Lush, Tamara (March 22, 2007). "Crash of an Icon". Miami New Times . Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  4. ↑ Lush, Tamara (December 21, 2005). "In Bimini, shock and grief settle in". Tampa Bay Times . Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  5. ↑ Ovalle, David; Fantz, Ashley; Matthew I., Pinzur (December 20, 2005). "Port to reopen as investigation begins into Chalk's plane crash". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  6. ↑ "NTSB RELEASES PHOTOS OF FATIGUE CRACKS FROM MONDAY'S CHALK'S OCEAN AIRWAYS CRASH IN MIAMI" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board – Office of Public Affairs. December 22, 2005. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  7. ↑ Pace, Gina (December 21, 2005). "Airline Grounds All Its Seaplanes". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  8. ↑ Goodnough, Abby; Wald, Matthew L. (December 22, 2005). "Airline Grounds Fleet After Seaplane Crash". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  9. ↑ "U.S. blames airline, FAA for deadly Florida crash". Reuters . May 30, 2007. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. ↑ Kaye, Ken; E. Gibson, William; BarM-s Diaz, Madeline (June 23, 2006). "Pilots Worried Before Chalk's Air Crash". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  11. ↑ "11 Bahamians killed in plane crash". BBCCaribbean. December 20, 2005. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  12. ↑ "Cracks In The System". Mayday . Season 9. 2010. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.
  13. ↑ "Miami Vice" Baseballs of Death (TV Episode 1988) , retrieved 2017-08-19
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.