West Coast Airlines Flight 720

West Coast Airlines Flight 720
	Sister aircraft N2701 in 1967
Accident
Date	March 10, 1967
Summary	Icing accident
Site	Stukel Mountain; Klamath County, Oregon, U.S.; near Klamath Falls Airport ; 42°07′15″N121°39′14″W / 42.12083°N 121.65389°W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Fairchild F-27
Operator	West Coast Airlines
Registration	N2712
Flight origin	Klamath Falls Airport ; Klamath Falls, Oregon
1st stopover	Medford Airport ; Medford, Oregon
2nd stopover	Eugene Airport ; Eugene, Oregon
Last stopover	Portland International Airport ; Portland, Oregon
Destination	Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
Passengers	1
Crew	3
Fatalities	4
Injuries	0
Survivors	0

Last updated September 29, 2023

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Location in the United States

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Location in Oregon

West Coast Airlines Flight 720 was a scheduled passenger flight in the northwest United States from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Seattle, Washington, with intermediate stops at Medford, Eugene and Portland, Oregon. On March 10, 1967, it crashed shortly after takeoff from Klamath Falls, killing all three crew members and the flight's lone passenger.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Synopsis

West Coast Airlines Flight 720 was operated on Friday, March 10, 1967 by a Fairchild F-27 aircraft registered N2712 and built in 1960. That morning, the aircraft was parked in West Coast's hangar at Klamath Falls Airport for routine maintenance.^[4] Because of snowy conditions, instead of loading at the terminal, as was standard procedure, the aircraft was loaded in the hangar with the passenger and crew members. Both pilots performed a preflight check of the plane and reported nothing unusual.

After boarding was completed at 4:46 a.m. PST, the plane was pushed out of the hangar as snow, mixed with rain, was falling.^[4] During pushback, the tractor tug became immobilized in the snow. Ground personnel spent 11 minutes freeing it, and during this time, the airplane was exposed to the adverse weather conditions and no attempt was undertaken to clear the wings or control surfaces of snow. Once freed from the snow, the aircraft taxied to Runway 14 and was granted takeoff clearance at 4:57 a.m. The elevation of the airport is approximately 4,100 feet (1,250 m) above sea level.

The aircraft took off at 5:01 a.m., and at 5:02:43 the crew contacted the tower to confirm that the plane was visible via radar. This was the last communication from the aircraft. The controller replied to the crew that they were indeed visible via radar, and he then witnessed a target on his screen drift to the left of the runway centerline and head toward the 6,526-foot (1,989 m) Stukel Mountain, four miles (6 km) southeast of the airport. At 5:02:49, the flight impacted the mountain's northwest slope at an approximate elevation of 5,050 feet (1,540 m).^[4]

Cause and investigation

At 5:09 a.m., a report reached the tower that an aircraft had crashed on Stukel Mountain. The runway tracks were observed in heavy snow, and the plane had swerved to the left on the runway before becoming airborne. By takeoff, the left gear was 12 feet (3.7 m) off the runway.^[4]

Several witnesses in the vicinity saw the airplane flying low and saw or heard a large explosion. All reported snow at the time of the crash.^[5]

The aircraft was equipped with a flight data recorder (FDR). Although the FDR was damaged in the crash, its recording medium could be read. The aircraft was reported to have climbed for approximately one minute after takeoff. Throughout the flight, the aircraft was recorded to have continued a turn to the left of the assigned heading. Shortly before impact, the aircraft began a sharp turn to the left, toward the mountain, at heading of 042 degrees.

The aircraft was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Although the device was damaged, the recording was intact. The crew reported a loss of control before impact and reported that they could not see the mountain. An expletive was uttered just before impact.^[4]

The aircraft was observed accumulating ice and snow on its control surfaces prior to takeoff and when moved out of the hangar. The investigation concluded that the failure of the crew to de-ice the plane was the cause of the accident.^[6] Given the crew's short turnaround schedule, fatigue was suggested as a contributing factor.

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References

↑ "Airline crash takes 4 lives". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 10, 1967. p. 1A.
↑ "West Coast crash kills 4 in Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 11, 1967. p. 1.
↑ "Deep snow prevents probe of plane crash". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 12, 1967. p. 3A.
1 2 3 4 5 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ Klamath Falls, OR West Coast Airline Plane Crashes, Mar 1967 https://www.gendisasters.com/node/3623
↑ "Accident detail". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

External links

Final accident report - National Transportation Safety Board

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[actfl-1] "Airline crash takes 4 lives". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 10, 1967. p. 1A.

[srapk4o-2] "West Coast crash kills 4 in Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 11, 1967. p. 1.

[dpsno-3] "Deep snow prevents probe of plane crash". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 12, 1967. p. 3A.

[aird-4] 1 2 3 4 5 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[5] Klamath Falls, OR West Coast Airline Plane Crashes, Mar 1967 https://www.gendisasters.com/node/3623

[6] "Accident detail". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s
1960	National Airlines Flight 2511 Capital Airlines Flight 20 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 World Airways Flight 830 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Cal Poly football team New York mid-air collision
1961	Goldsboro B-52 American Airlines Flight 1502 Yuba City B-52 United Air Lines Flight 859 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 TWA Flight 529 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 Continental Airlines Flight 11 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 United Air Lines Flight 297 Eastern Air Lines Flight 512
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Camden PA-24 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 Pan Am Flight 214
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Paradise Airlines Flight 901A Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 United Air Lines Flight 823 Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 Flying Tiger Line Flight 282
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 Pan Am Flight 843 Continental Airlines Flight 12 Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 United Air Lines Flight 389 American Airlines Flight 383 United Air Lines Flight 227 Carmel mid-air (Eastern 853, TWA 42)
1966	NASA T-38 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D Braniff International Airways Flight 250 West Coast Airlines Flight 956
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 TWA Flight 553 West Coast Airlines Flight 720 Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 TWA Flight 159 X-15 Flight 3-65-97 TWA Flight 128
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 Braniff International Airways Flight 352 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Northeast Airlines Flight 946 Japan Air Lines Flight 2 Pan Am Flight 281 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 Pan Am Flight 799 North Central Airlines Flight 458 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 United Air Lines Flight 266 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Prinair Flight 277 Delta Air Lines Flight 821 TWA Flight 5787 Newton Cessna 172 crash Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411
This list is incomplete.