Continental Airlines Flight 603

Continental Airlines Flight 603
	The wreckage of Flight 603
Accident
Date	March 1, 1978
Summary	Aborted takeoff due to tire blowout
Site	Runway 6R, Los Angeles International Airport ; 33°57′00″N118°24′06″W / 33.9500°N 118.4017°W
Total fatalities	4
Total injuries	39
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Operator	Continental Airlines
Registration	N68045
Flight origin	Los Angeles International Airport
Destination	Honolulu International Airport
Occupants	200
Passengers	186
Crew	14
Fatalities	4
Injuries	29
Survivors	196
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	0
Ground injuries	10

Last updated March 28, 2024

Continental Airlines Flight 603 was a scheduled McDonnell Douglas DC-10 flight between Los Angeles International Airport and Honolulu International Airport. On March 1, 1978, it crashed during an aborted takeoff, resulting in the deaths of four passengers.^[1]^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, registered N68045, which had made its first flight in 1972.^[1]^: 4, 48^[3]

The captain was 59-year-old Charles E. Hersche, who was operating his last flight before retirement.^[2] He had been with Continental Airlines since 1946 and had logged 29,000 flight hours, including 2,911 hours on the DC-10. Hersche served with the U.S. Air Force from 1942 through 1953 during World War II and Korean War.^[1]^: 46

The first officer was 40-year-old Michael J. Provan, who had been with Continental Airlines since 1966 and had 10,000 flight hours, with 1,149 of them on the DC-10.^[1]^: 46

The flight engineer was 39-year-old John K. Olsen, who had been with the airline since 1968. He was the least experienced member of the crew with 8,000 flight hours, 1,520 of them on the DC-10.^[1]^: 46–47

Accident

The aircraft began its take-off from Los Angeles International Airport at around 9:25 am. During the takeoff roll, the recapping tread of the number-two tire on the left main landing gear separated from the tire and the resulting overload caused that tire to blow out. That, in turn, imposed an overload on the number-one tire on the same axle, resulting in a second blowout almost immediately after the first blowout. Pieces of metal from the rims of the failed tires then damaged the number-five tire on the left main gear, causing it to also blow out.

Although Captain Hershe initiated the abort procedure at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) below V₁ speed, it became apparent the aircraft could not stop within the confines of the runway. This was the direct result of the partial loss of braking power following the failure of the three tires on the left main gear, and also because the runway was wet. The captain steered the aircraft to go off the end of the right half of the runway in an effort "to go beside the stanchions holding the runway lights", thus avoiding a collision with the approach light stanchions, which were positioned immediately beyond the end of the runway.^[1]^: 2 About 100 feet (30 m) beyond the end of the runway, the left main gear broke through the nonload-bearing pavement, which caused it to collapse rearward. Portions of the failed gear punctured fuel tanks in the left wing, immediately starting a fuel fire on the left side.^[1]

The aircraft slid to a stop about 664 feet (202 m) beyond the departure end of the runway. Because of the fire on the left side of the aircraft, all passengers evacuated on the right side. All four emergency evacuation slides on the right side of the aircraft were affected by the heat and failed at some point during the evacuation.^[1]^: 31 Flight 603's flight crew and an off-duty pilot worked quickly to guide passengers to alternate exits as the slides failed, actions later commended by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for saving lives and reducing the number of injuries.^[1]^: 38 Passengers who were still on board after the last slide failed were forced to either jump to the ground, or use a slide rope deployed from the first officer's cockpit window.^[1]^: 31

Of the 186 passengers and 14 crew on board, two passengers died due to burning and smoke inhalation.^[2] Moreover, 28 passengers and three crew members were seriously injured during the evacuation. Two of the seriously injured passengers died as a result of their injuries about three months later.^{[lower-alpha 1]} Ten firefighters were also injured during the emergency response.^[1]^: 3

A large portion of the aircraft's left section was destroyed.^[1]^: 3 The aircraft subsequently was written off as a hull loss. The accident represents the second fatal accident and fifth hull loss of a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.^[3]

Investigation

During its investigation, the NTSB found the number-two tire failed because it threw off its (recapped) tread. The number-one tire then failed because it was overloaded and had fatigue in its ply structure. The number-five tire then failed, because it was hit with a piece or pieces of metal from either the number-two or -one wheel. The failure of that third tire on the left main gear probably contributed to the gear breaking through the nonload-bearing pavement beyond the end of the runway, which in turn caused the gear to collapse and puncture the fuel tanks. Additionally, the NTSB stated: "The tires on the aircraft may have been operated in the over-deflection condition, since the average inflation pressure was less than the optimum pressure for maximum gross weight."^[1]

The NTSB made recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including that the FAA prohibit mounting on the same axle different models of tires, which had different load-bearing characteristics and also that greater load-bearing characteristics be required in tires manufactured in the future.^[1] The NTSB also issued a series of recommendations regarding improvements to aircraft evacuation safety, including development of more durable and fire-resistant slides, and the placement of evacuation ropes at emergency exits for use in the event of slide failure.^[4]

Aftermath

After the investigation of this accident was completed, the FAA made a number of rule changes improving runway performance, including updated tire rating criteria, performance standards, and testing requirements.^[5] In addition, the FAA mandated changes to the design of evacuation slides to increase their capacity, improve fire resistance, and inflate at a quicker speed.^[5]

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 The NTSB's final report lists two fatal injuries and 31 serious injuries. However, two of the 31 people reported by the NTSB as having "serious" injuries actually died as a result of the crash. These two individuals, both passengers, initially survived the crash, but died 3 months later from their injuries. In its final report, the NTSB explained that at the time, 49 CFR 830.2 required it to only identify persons who died within 7 days of an accident as fatalities. In accordance with the regulation, the NTSB did not list these two deceased passengers as fatalities, instead including them in the NTSB's count of 31 "serious" injuries.^[1]^: 8 A 2008 retrospective published by the Orange County Register accurately described the accident as resulting in a total of four fatalities and 29 serious injuries.^[2]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Aircraft Accident Report, Continental Air Lines, Inc., McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10, N68045, Los Angeles, California, March 1, 1978" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. January 25, 1979. NTSB/AAR-79/01. Retrieved December 22, 2017. - Alternate link at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
1 2 3 Berg, Tom (February 28, 2008). "Still surviving the crash of Flight 603". Orange County Register . Retrieved December 22, 2017.
1 2 "Accident description - N68045". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation . Retrieved October 16, 2013.
↑ "NTSB Safety Regulation(s) A-79-16 through -20" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. May 1, 1979. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
1 2 "Continental Airlines Flight 603, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, N68045 - Resulting Safety Initiatives". Federal Aviation Administration . September 27, 2013.

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[fatality_footnote-2] 1 2 3 4 5 The NTSB's final report lists two fatal injuries and 31 serious injuries. However, two of the 31 people reported by the NTSB as having "serious" injuries actually died as a result of the crash. These two individuals, both passengers, initially survived the crash, but died 3 months later from their injuries. In its final report, the NTSB explained that at the time, 49 CFR 830.2 required it to only identify persons who died within 7 days of an accident as fatalities. In accordance with the regulation, the NTSB did not list these two deceased passengers as fatalities, instead including them in the NTSB's count of 31 "serious" injuries.^[1]^: 8 A 2008 retrospective published by the Orange County Register accurately described the accident as resulting in a total of four fatalities and 29 serious injuries.^[2]

[AAR-79-01_Final_Report-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Aircraft Accident Report, Continental Air Lines, Inc., McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10, N68045, Los Angeles, California, March 1, 1978" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. January 25, 1979. NTSB/AAR-79/01. Retrieved December 22, 2017. - Alternate link at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

[OC1-3] 1 2 3 Berg, Tom (February 28, 2008). "Still surviving the crash of Flight 603". Orange County Register . Retrieved December 22, 2017.

[ASN-4] 1 2 "Accident description - N68045". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation . Retrieved October 16, 2013.

[NTSB_Safety_Regulations_A-79-16_through_-20-5] "NTSB Safety Regulation(s) A-79-16 through -20" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. May 1, 1979. Retrieved December 22, 2017.

[FAA1-6] 1 2 "Continental Airlines Flight 603, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, N68045 - Resulting Safety Initiatives". Federal Aviation Administration . September 27, 2013.

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 Trans International Airlines Flight 863 Wichita State University football team plane crash Southern Airways Flight 932 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 Pan Am Flight 845 Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (see D. B. Cooper)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 American Airlines Flight 96 Prinair Flight 191 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 Delta Air Lines Flight 841 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Southern Airways Flight 49 United Air Lines Flight 553 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Delta Air Lines Flight 723 TWA Flight 742 World Airways Flight 802 Texas International Airlines Flight 655 Pan Am Flight 160 National Airlines Flight 27 Iberia Flight 933
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 Pan Am Flight 806 Delta Air Lines Flight 523 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 TWA Flight 514 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 Overseas National Airways Flight 032
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 American Airlines Flight 625 Air Manila Flight 702 TWA Flight 355
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 Southern Airways Flight 242 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 Encino helicopter crash Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash Air Indiana Flight 216 United Airlines Flight 2860 Vieques Air Link crash
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 United Airlines Flight 696 National Airlines Flight 193 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 Air Caribbean Flight 309 TWA Flight 541 United Airlines Flight 173
1979	TWA Flight 841 American Airlines Flight 191 Downeast Airlines Flight 46 Air New England Flight 248 American Airlines Flight 293 American Airlines Flight 444
This list is incomplete. ALM Flight 980 ditched in waters near St. Croix. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands