Accident | |
---|---|
Date | March 2, 1963 |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain in bad weather |
Site | Mount Boca, near sitio Kiniledan, 50 miles from Davao, Philippines |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Douglas C-47B |
Operator | Philippine Air Lines |
Registration | PI-C489 |
Flight origin | Zamboanga International Airport, Zamboanga, Philippines |
Stopover | Cotabato Airport, Cotabato, Philippines |
Destination | Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Davao, Philippines |
Passengers | 24 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 27 |
Survivors | 0 |
Philippine Air Lines Flight 984 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Philippine Air Lines that crashed en route to Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Davao City, Philippines.
On March 2, 1963, the Douglas C-47B was flying in overcast weather en route to Davao when it crashed on the slopes of Mount Boca, near sitio Kiniledan, reportedly about 50 miles from Davao, on the second leg of a Zamboanga-Cotabato-Davao route that originated from Zamboanga. Everyone on board was killed upon impact. [1]
The aircraft was a Douglas C-47B (c/n 32863) manufactured in Oklahoma, United States around 1945. It was assigned to the United States Air Force before being transferred to the Royal Air Force, and then finally delivered to Philippine Air Lines. [2] [3]
The aircraft's maintenance history and records showed nothing of an unusual nature, and there were no reports of malfunction while the aircraft was stationed at Cotabato. It was testified that at the time of takeoff, the aircraft was still airworthy and its gross weight and centre of gravity were within allowable limits.
The captain held an airline pilot's license rated for the DC-3, with his last proficiency check being in February 1962. He had flown the same route for nine years, some being on DC-3 and DHC-3 Otter aircraft, so he was familiar with the prevailing weather conditions and flight path. He had amassed 10,320 flight hours, and his medical certificate showed no waivers.
The co-pilot held a commercial pilot's license rated for the DC-3, and flew a total of 870 hours. His medical certificate showed no waivers. [4]
Flight 984 departed Cotabato at 09:40 PHT and was estimated to arrive at Davao by 10:25. At 10:02, the crew reported to the radio station at Cotabato that they were halfway to Davao at 6,000 feet, and was beginning to descend.
Later on, it contacted the radio station at Davao asking for the weather conditions present in the area. After having received the weather information the flight was advised that its arrival would be delayed due to bad weather. There was no report concerning a malfunction with the aircraft and this would end up to be the final radio transmission from the aircraft.
When Flight 984 failed to arrive at Davao, a search was conducted, where the wreckage was subsequently found on Mount Boca, about 50 miles from Davao Airport, at an altitude of 3,000 feet. It was estimated the aircraft crashed at around 11:30. [4] [5]
The aircraft was on a heading of 030° approaching the Digos shoreline when it struck tree tops, separating both wings until the aircraft came to rest upside down after hitting a tree about 3 metres in diameter. The landing gear was extended and the engines were developing power. No fire took place, and everyone on board was killed on impact. [4]
The weather on the flight path was not formally available for the pilots as this was the first flight of the day on the Cotabato-Davao segment, so they had to rely on the weather reports of other pilots. The PAL radio operator at Davao had reported a visibility of 1–2 miles, 500–1,000 feet in overcast and wind speeds of 5–8 knots.
The Philippine Aircraft Accident Investigation Board investigated the crash. The probable flight path was reconstructed, and it was believed that the aircraft may had drifted inland due to eastern winds at about 10 knots. When the pilot asked for weather at Davao, he may had believed he was over the Digos shoreline, but instead he was 3 miles off course in poor visibility and was approximately 5 miles inland of Digos when he started his descent.
The Board believed that the pilot was too confident of his position and flight experience that he did not take into account the crosswinds that drifted the aircraft off course.
Therefore, the probable cause was determined to be a navigational error, en-route and during descent, with contributing factors being the limited visibility and crosswind in the final stages of the flight. [4] [5]
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1951:
Zamboanga International Airport is the main airport serving Zamboanga City in the Philippines. Located on a 270-hectare (670-acre) site in Barangay Canelar, Zamboanga City, the airport is Mindanao's third-busiest airport after Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.
The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway, is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as the country's principal transport backbone. Measuring 3,379.73 kilometers (2,100.07 mi) long excluding sea routes not counted by highway milestones, it is the longest road in the Philippines that forms the country's north–south backbone component of National Route 1 (N1) of the Philippine highway network. The entire highway is designated as Asian Highway 26 (AH26) of the Asian Highway Network.
Gao International Airport, also known as Korogoussou Airport, is an airport in Gao, Mali. The airport's runway crosses through the prime meridian.
Central African Airways (CAA) was a supranational airline corporation serving as flag carrier for Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which were organised as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation, from 1953 to 1963. Based in Salisbury, it offered an extensive network of domestic passenger and cargo flights, as well as international services to major cities in Southern and Central Africa, and a route to London. In 1960, CAA owned 15 aircraft and had 1,155 employees.
British United Airways Flight 1030X crashed on 14 April 1965 on Jersey in the Channel Islands. Poor visibility and low cloud cover resulted in an aborted landing attempt, leading to a second attempt which ended with the Douglas C-47B hitting the outermost pole of the approach lighting system before crashing into a field and catching fire. The crash killed all 23 passengers and three of the crew on board; a flight attendant was the only survivor of the accident.
Alaska Airlines Flight 779 was a contract cargo flight operated on 21 July 1961 by an Alaska Airlines Douglas DC-6A that crashed short of the runway at Shemya Air Force Base with the loss of all six crew members on board.
Philippine Air Lines Flight S26 was a domestic flight that departed from Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo on 23 November 1960 at 17:33 PHT to Manila International Airport near Manila.
Philippine Air Lines Flight S85 was a domestic flight that crashed shortly after taking off from Cebu-Lahug Airport, Cebu.
Philippine Air Lines Flight F26 was a domestic flight operated by Philippine Air Lines that crashed en route to Zamboanga Airport, Zamboanga on May 20, 1964.
Philippine Air Lines Flight 785 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Philippine Air Lines that crashed en route to San Jose Airport, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines.
Philippine Air Lines Flight 741 was a domestic flight operated by Philippine Air Lines that crashed shortly after takeoff from Manila International Airport, Manila.