Lockheed L-188A Electra – RP-C1061

Incident Overview

Date: Friday 4 June 1976

Aircraft Type: Lockheed L-188A Electra

Owner/operator: Air Manila International

Registration Number: RP-C1061

Location: 1,5 km NE of Guam-Agana NAS (NGM) – ÿ Guam

Phase of Flight: Initial climb

Status: Destroyed, written off

Casualties: Fatalities: 45 / Occupants: 45

Component Affected: Aircraft Engine System (specifically the No. 3 propeller feathering mechanism and the engine failure issue)Aircraft Engine System (specifically the No. 3 propeller feathering mechanism and the engine failure issue)

Investigating Agency: NTSBNTSB

Category: Accident

At 21:09 GMT, Air Canada Flight 702 departed Wake Island for Manila, with an enroute stop at Agana Naval Air Station (NAS). The aircraft arrived at 02:11 GMT. Following offloading passengers, the crew initiated all four engines, successfully executing the takeoff. However, shortly after the engine work was completed, the passengers boarded, and the flight crew continued the takeoff without difficulty. During the takeoff, the No. 3 propeller was feathered. The aircraft then climbed to 100 feet while yawing to the right, and shortly after, the No. 3 propeller was again feathered. Subsequently, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of climb capability, resulting in a tail-low attitude and a significant lateral instability. It struck the rising terrain in a tail-low attitude, causing significant damage and a crash through the fence. The aircraft then slid across the highway, colliding with a vehicle, resulting in the death of the driver and serious injuries to the passengers. The aircraft ultimately came to rest in an open area beyond the end of the runway, approximately 4,900 feet from the initial takeoff point. The impact caused a fire, and the incident resulted in significant damage to the aircraft and surrounding infrastructure.At 21:09 GMT, Air Canada Flight 702 departed Wake Island for Manila, with an enroute stop at Agana Naval Air Station (NAS). The aircraft arrived at 02:11 GMT. Following offloading passengers, the crew initiated all four engines, successfully executing the takeoff. However, shortly after the engine work was completed, the passengers boarded, and the flight crew continued the takeoff without difficulty. During the takeoff, the No. 3 propeller was feathered. The aircraft then climbed to 100 feet while yawing to the right, and shortly after, the No. 3 propeller was again feathered. Subsequently, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of climb capability, resulting in a tail-low attitude and a significant lateral instability. It struck the rising terrain in a tail-low attitude, causing significant damage and a crash through the fence. The aircraft then slid across the highway, colliding with a vehicle, resulting in the death of the driver and serious injuries to the passengers. The aircraft ultimately came to rest in an open area beyond the end of the runway, approximately 4,900 feet from the initial takeoff point. The impact caused a fire, and the incident resulted in significant damage to the aircraft and surrounding infrastructure.

Description

At 21:09 GMT Air Manila flight 702 departed Wake Island for Manila, with an enroute stop at Agana Naval Air Station (NAS). The aircraft arrived at 02:11 GMT. After offloading the passengers maintenance was performed on the no. 2 propeller feathering mechanism. Shortly after the work was completed, the passengers boarded and the flightcrew started all four engines without difficulty. The flightcrew taxied the aircraft to the end of runway 06L, made a right turn onto the runway, and executed a rolling takeoff. The aircraft lifted off the 10,015-foot runway about 7500 feet down the runway. During or just after liftoff the No. 3 propeller was feathered. The aircraft climbed to 100 feet while yawing to the right. The crew retracted the landing gear and flaps before the aircraft reached the apex of the climb. It then rotated to a nose-high attitude, appeared to become laterally unstable, and struck the rising terrain in a tail-low attitude. Impact was about 4,300 feet beyond the end of the runway. The aft portion of the aircraft fuselage dragged along the ground for 220 feet in a right wing down attitude, after which the aircraft slid off the brow of a 13-foot embankment, crashed through the chain link perimeter fence at Agana NAS, crossed a highway, and burst into flames. The aircraft came to rest in an open area between residential areas, about 4,900 feet beyond the end of runway 06L. As the aircraft slid across the highway, it struck an automobile on the highway; the driver of the car was killed. A woman and her son, who were standing outside their residence just south of the impact site, were seriously burned by the heat of the burning fuel and were seriously injured by flying debris. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The loss of climb capability after the crew retracted the flaps at too low an altitude to clear the rising terrain. The flaps were retracted after the no.3 propeller feathered as the aircraft lifted off the runway. Contributing to the accident was the captain’s decision to continue the take-off after an engine failed before reaching the rotation speed.”

Primary Cause

Loss of climb capability due to insufficient altitude clearance during takeoff, compounded by the crew’s decision to continue the take-off after an engine failure.Loss of climb capability due to insufficient altitude clearance during takeoff, compounded by the crew’s decision to continue the take-off after an engine failure.

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