1960 New York mid-air collision
The aircraft collision of New York City on Friday, December 16, 1960, collided over Staten Iceland (New York City) is a Lockheed Super Constellation TWA with a Douglas DC-8 United Airlines. Parts of the TWA Constellation fell to a military area in New Dorp ( Staten Iceland ); which caught fire DC-8 crashed into the 10 miles ( 19 km) distant residential Park Slope ( Brooklyn ).
With 134 victims (all 128 occupants of both machines and six people in Brooklyn ) it was at the time the worst plane crash in the United States even before the plane collision over the Grand Canyon in June 1956 when 128 people died. In determining the cause of the accident, the records of a flight data recorder were first evaluated, who was on board the DC-8.
Flight routes
Flight United Airlines UA 826 started with 77 passengers and seven crew members the morning at 9:11 clock Eastern Standard Time (EST ) on the Chicago O'Hare Airport with destination New York International ( Idlewild ) Airport.
The machine of TWA Flight 266 came from the Dayton International Airport and was supposed to land at New York's La Guardia Airport. After landing in Columbus (Ohio ), the Constellation raised there by 9 clock from EST with 39 passengers and five crew members.
Aircraft
The aircraft of United flight 826 was Mainliner Will Rogers with the aircraft identification N8013U. The 1959 -built four-engine Douglas DC -8 ( Werk-Nr. 45290/22 ) had 2434 hours of operation.
The four-engine propeller plane Star of Sicily with the registration N6907C in 1952 delivered to Trans World Airlines. The Lockheed Super Constellation L -1049 ( Werk-Nr. 4021 ) was until the accident 21,555 hours in operation.
Course
At 10:32 clock EST TWA machine was at flight level 65 ( 6,500 feet, equivalent to about 2000 meters) from the Air Traffic Control ( ATC ) New York instructed the Linden VOR course to 150 degrees ( southeast ) to change, then on Staten Iceland to begin the approach for runway 04 of the airport La Guardia. Here, a descent to FL 50 (about 1500 meters ) should be done.
Shortly before 10:25 clock EST offered the ATC New York the yet to FL 140 (approx. 4,300 m) located United flight 826 to, before landing at the airport Idlewild the remaining route to the navigation point " Preston Intersection" (10 miles west of Red Bank ( New Jersey)) by 11 miles to shorten 20 km ) and likewise to descend to FL 50 (. From there to take over the flight APP ( Approach Control ) Idlewild. If this left no landing clearance ( landing - clearance ), the DC-8 should go to Preston in a holding pattern (Holding). UA 826 was at 10:33 clock APP Idlewild information, 50 northeast to fly to FL to Preston. In fact, the machine had ( clearance ) already exceeded this flight clearance limit by about 11 miles and was located on the coast of Staten Iceland. 30 seconds later collided right outer engine of the DC-8 with the fuselage of TWA machine; the United jet lost with the engine a part of the right wing.
The TWA Constellation broke into several pieces, most of which are on a disused site ( Miller Army Airfield ) U.S. Army fell. On the ground, there were no more victims. The aircraft caught fire United flew with the remaining three engines for 10 miles to the northeast, and smote in the field of roads Sterling Place / Seventh Avenue Park Slope ( Brooklyn ) on. The church " Pillar of Fire" (Sterling Place 123 ) was completely destroyed and several adjacent buildings were badly damaged in the upper floors of it. At the crash site of United - machine six residents and passers-by were killed.
Swell
- United Airlines Flight 826 aviation - safety.net ( dt. / Engl. )
- TWA Flight 266 aviation - safety.net ( dt. / Engl. )
- Accident report U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board: Aircraft Accident Report, June 18, 1962 ( pdf, engl. )