Incident Overview

Date: Friday 30 November 1962
Aircraft Type: Douglas DC-7B
Owner/operator: Eastern Air Lines
Registration Number: N815D
Location: New York-Idlewild International Airport, NY (IDL) – ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 25 / Occupants: 51
Component Affected: Aircraft Control Systems (Landing Gear, Flaps, Climb Power, Orientation)Aircraft Control Systems (Landing Gear, Flaps, Climb Power, Orientation)
Investigating Agency: CABCAB
Category: Accident
An Eastern Air Lines DC-7 flight 512 crashed while on approach to New York-Idlewild Airport, resulting in the loss of 26 lives and 25 survivors. The aircraft deviated from the planned flight path due to deteriorating weather conditions, specifically ground fog, and experienced a rapid loss of visual reference. The crew initiated a rapid landing procedure, including retractable landing gear, flaps, and reduced climb power, but ultimately lost control and crashed.An Eastern Air Lines DC-7 flight 512 crashed while on approach to New York-Idlewild Airport, resulting in the loss of 26 lives and 25 survivors. The aircraft deviated from the planned flight path due to deteriorating weather conditions, specifically ground fog, and experienced a rapid loss of visual reference. The crew initiated a rapid landing procedure, including retractable landing gear, flaps, and reduced climb power, but ultimately lost control and crashed.

Description

Eastern Air Lines flight 512, a Douglas DC-7, crashed while on approach to New York-Idlewild Airport, USA, killing 25 occupants; 26 survived the accident. Flight 512 departed Charlotte (CLT) at 19:41 for an IFR flight to New York-Idlewild. Weather worsened at Idlewild due to ground fog. At 21:45 the aircraft crossed the runway 04R threshold and continued along a flight path of 1,5 degree slope downward and about 6 degrees to the left of runway heading for almost 9 seconds. A rapid deterioration of visual reference forced the crew to abandon the approach. The landing gear was retracted, flaps selected to 20 degrees and slightly more than climb power was applied. The aircraft was 1000 feet past the ILS touchdown point, left of the runway and at an altitude of 25 feet when the missed approach procedure was initiated. A 9 degree nose up attitude had to be attained in order to compensate for the loss of lift as the flaps were retracted. The aircraft didn’t reach this attitude due to a lack of immediate instrument orientation (during transition to instrument reference due to loss of visual reference) and additional power was either not requested or delayed. At 3460 feet from the threshold the propellers no. 1 and 2 contacted the ground. The aircraft was in a 6 degree left bank, 3-5 degree nose up and had an airspeed of 135 knots. Breakup of the wings and fuselage occurred on a mound of earth about 3 feet high, 3600 feet from the runway 04R threshold. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The technique employed by the crew during abandonment of the approach under fog conditions not adequately reported.”

Primary Cause

Lack of adequate reporting of crew technique during abandonment of the approach under deteriorating visibility conditions.Lack of adequate reporting of crew technique during abandonment of the approach under deteriorating visibility conditions.

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