Northwest Airlines was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines–US Airways merger in 2013.
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.
Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-sized cities and towns where larger aircraft might not be economical to operate and also to larger markets to either provide additional capacity or more frequent flights than could be justified using mainline aircraft. The Northwest Airlink trade name was replaced by the Delta Connection trade name for Delta Air Lines following the Delta/Northwest merger.
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful European airliners of its era.
China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong.
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. Sixty-five 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 accident as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.
The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. With its fairly high power-to-weight ratio, huge propellers and very short wings, large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high altitude airfields. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Jet airliners soon supplanted turboprops for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century. The airframe was also used as the basis for the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
National Airlines Flight 2511 was a United States domestic passenger flight from New York City to Miami, Florida. On January 6, 1960, the Douglas DC-6 serving the flight exploded in midair. The National Airlines aircraft was carrying 5 crew members and 29 passengers, all of whom perished. The Civil Aeronautics Board investigation concluded that the plane was brought down by a bomb made of dynamite. No criminal charges were ever filed, nor was the blame for the bombing ever determined, though a suicide bombing is suspected. The investigation remains open.
The Martin 4-0-4 is an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 was a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft, registration N137US, which crashed on take-off from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport September 17, 1961. All 37 on board were killed in the accident.
The Martin 2-0-2 was an airliner introduced in 1947. The twin piston-engined fixed-wing aircraft was designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company.
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.
The Stinson Model A was a moderately successful airliner of the mid-1930s. It was one of the last commercial airliners designed in the United States with a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage before the introduction of stressed skin aluminum construction.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, disintegrated in-flight and crashed near Cannelton, Indiana on March 17, 1960. The flight carried 57 passengers and six crew members. There were no survivors.
Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight in Alaska that crashed into Pedro Bay on December 2, 1968, killing all 39 on board. The Fairchild F-27B aircraft was operated by Wien Consolidated Airlines and was en route to Dillingham from Anchorage, with three intermediate stops. The NTSB investigation revealed that the aircraft suffered a structural failure after encountering "severe-to-extreme" air turbulence. The accident was the second-worst accident involving a Fairchild F-27 at the time, and currently the third-worst accident involving the aircraft.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 was a scheduled international flight with several domestic legs in the United States with the routing Washington, DC–Pittsburgh-Cleveland-Detroit–Madison–Rochester–Minneapolis-St. Paul–Winnipeg. On Tuesday, March 7, 1950, a Martin 2-0-2, registered N93050, was operating the flight when it collided with a flagpole at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on approach to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. During an attempt to make an emergency landing, a section of the left wing departed the aircraft, rendering it uncontrollable and causing it to crash into the Doughty family house in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis. All three crew members and ten passengers on board were killed, as were two children, Janet and Tom Doughty, and the family dog inside the house.
On 31 December 1968 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a flight of 724 nautical miles (1341 km) to Port Hedland. The aircraft crashed 28 nautical miles (52 km) short of its destination with the loss of all twenty-six people on board. More than half of the right wing, from outboard of the inner engine to the wingtip, including the outer engine and its propeller, broke away from the rest of the aircraft in flight and struck the ground a significant distance from the main wreckage. Investigation by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation and British Aircraft Corporation concluded that a mysterious action during maintenance led to extensive fatigue cracking in the right wing spar. This accident remains the third worst in Australia's civil aviation history.
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.
The crash of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1–11 was an accident involving a Douglas DC-7C of the American airline Northwest Orient 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast off Polillo Island, Quezon, Philippines, on July 14, 1960. Of the 58 people on board, 57 survived with 44 suffering from minor injuries and one female passenger losing her life.
