ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-30 N74601 Chicago-Midway Airport, IL (MDW)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 5 August 1955
Time:13:01
Type:Silhouette image of generic b377 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-30
Operator:Northwest Orient Airlines
Registration: N74601
MSN: 15947/16
First flight: 1949-03-18 (6 years 5 months)
Total airframe hrs:16861
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B6
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 60
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 68
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:Chicago-Midway Airport, IL (MDW) (   United States of America)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport/Wold-Chamberlain Field, MN (MSP/KMSP), United States of America
Destination airport:Chicago-Midway Airport, IL (MDW/KMDW), United States of America
Flightnumber:NW410
Narrative:
Northwest Flight 410 originated at Minneapolis, Minnesota, with its destination Chicago, Illinois. Departure was from Minneapolis at 11:30 on an IFR flight plan. The en route and descent parts of the flight were uneventful.
At 12:56 radio frequency was changed to Midway Tower and the flight was then advised to report west of the field for a left turn for landing on runway 31L. Flight 410 was number three to land in a sequence pattern of five aircraft. Touchdown was about one-quarter down the runway, and the landing roll continued to the end of the runway without appreciable deceleration. At the end of the runway a slight turn to the left was made and the aircraft crossed several hundred feet of grassy area before crashing through the chain link fence bordering the airport. The aircraft stopped upright, heading west, with its main landing gear on the pavement of Central Avenue, the street bordering the west side of the airport. Passengers and crew left the aircraft via the emergency evacuation chute at the main cabin door and also through the exit door of the lower lounge compartment.

Probable Cause:

Probable Cause: "The inability of the pilot to stop the aircraft by means of conventional braking and the unavailability of propeller reversing due to the improper position of the reversing circuit breakers."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: CAB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 157 days (5 months)
Accident number: File No. 1-0091
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Runway excursion

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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport/Wold-Chamberlain Field, MN to Chicago-Midway Airport, IL as the crow flies is 556 km (348 miles).

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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