Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 7 December 1952
Aircraft Type: Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation
Owner/operator: Trans World Airlines – TWA
Registration Number: N6904C
Location: Fallon NAS, NV (NFL) – ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Substantial, repaired
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 40
Component Affected: Engine No. 3Engine No. 3
Investigating Agency: CABCAB
Category: Accident
A TWA Flight 35 experienced a significant mechanical failure during an en route stop near Lovelock, Nevada, resulting in a controlled landing and subsequent maneuvering to avoid damage. The loss of engine three caused a cascade of events, including overspeeding, propeller feathering, and subsequent engine failures. The aircraft subsequently deviated from its intended course and landed in a difficult terrain area.A TWA Flight 35 experienced a significant mechanical failure during an en route stop near Lovelock, Nevada, resulting in a controlled landing and subsequent maneuvering to avoid damage. The loss of engine three caused a cascade of events, including overspeeding, propeller feathering, and subsequent engine failures. The aircraft subsequently deviated from its intended course and landed in a difficult terrain area.

Description

TWA Flight 35 was a scheduled domestic U.S. service from New York-Idlewild Airport to San Francisco with an en route stop at Chicago. Departure from Chicago was at 10:20. The flight was routine until near Lovelock, Nevada, when, at about 17:40 and at an altitude of 16000 feet MSL, a complete power loss was experienced from engine no.3. During a restart attempt, the engine overspeeded and the propeller was subsequently feathered. About 25 minutes after the failure of 3 no.3 engine, engine no.4 failed. Power could not be restored, and at 18:29 the propeller was feathered and an emergency was declared. The flight then turned back towards Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Fallon, Nevada, where weather was good. Flaps and gear were manually lowered. After touchdown neither nose wheel steering nor brakes were working. Engines no.1 and 2 were placed in reverse pitch and the aircraft veered off the left side of the runway. Reverse pitch was cancelled. The aircraft continued to the left of the runway, into soft dirt, through a ditch two and one-half feet deep and through several piles of gravel. The right wing with the right landing gear was torn from the fuselage at the wing fillet. The aircraft then swerved to the right and stopped. Probable Cause: Improper use of the emergency braking system during the course of an emergency landing. This landing was necessitated by complete loss of power from the Nos. 3 and 4 engines due to the failure of their cam drive gears. A contributing factor was inadequacy of the company’s Lockheed 1049 transition training program from the former model aircraft concerning the difference in emergency procedures.

Primary Cause

Improper use of the emergency braking system during an emergency landing.Improper use of the emergency braking system during an emergency landing.

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