Date: | Sunday 15 September 1957 |
Time: | 20:46 |
Type: | Douglas C-53-DO (DC-3) |
Owner/operator: | Northeast Airlines |
Registration: | N34417 |
MSN: | 7337 |
Year of manufacture: | 1942 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 24 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | New Bedford, MA -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Approach |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Martha's Vineyard Airport, MA (MVY/KMVY) |
Destination airport: | New Bedford Airport, MA (EWB/KEWB) |
Investigating agency: | CAB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:Northeast Flight 285 departed Martha's Vineyard for a flight to New Bedford at 20:19. After 19 minutes the crew contacted New Bedford at the start of the descent out of 4000 feet. The controller then passed on weather information to the crew: indefinite 200, obscuration; visibility 1 mile; fog; wind southeast 3; altimeter 30.02. The flight was immediately cleared for a straight in approach and landing at runway 05. Last radio contact was when the crew reported inbound over the outer marker. The DC-3 struck 2 45-50 feet high trees, some 4000 feet short of the runway. The right wing separated on impact, causing the aircraft to roll to the right, cutting a swath through a dense growth of trees until the stub right wing dug into the soft swamp floor. The aircraft cartwheeled until the left engine struck a large tree stump, causing the fuselage to break in two. The wreckage came to rest 600 feet past the point of initial contact with the trees.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot attempted to make a visual approach by descending prematurely in the approach area without adherence to the prescribed ILS approach procedure which was dictated by existing weather conditions."
Accident investigation:
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| |
Investigating agency: | CAB |
Report number: | final report |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | |
Download report: | Final report |
|
Sources:
ICAO Accident Digest No.9, Circular 56-AN/51 (166-172)
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |