Narrative:The P-3 Orion departed Brunswick at 12:05 on a flight to Trenton, where it was to take part in an airshow. Some eight to ten minutes later the aircraft crashed in flames.
Reportedly, the no. 1 engine experienced a "whirl mode" failure in turbulence. The no. 1 engine separated from the wing, along with an 11 feet outboard portion of the port wing. The wing part struck the port horizontal stabilizer, shearing it off. Aerodynamic forces then caused the (downward) separation of the remaining three engines. The starboard wing folded up at the wing root and broke away. The remainder of the aircraft rolled inverted and impacted the ground.
Classification:
Wing failure
Loss of control
Sources:
» Neal Hesser (E-mail, 31-10-2007)
» Brunswick Times Record September 25, 1977
» P-3 Orion Aircraft Location Report (P-3 Orion Research Group - The Netherlands)
» US Crashes 1950-2002 / Jan van Waarde
»
US Navy and US Marine Corps Aircraft Serial Numbers and Bureau Numbers--1911 to Present / Joe Baugher» VPNavy.org
Photos
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 Brunswick NAS, ME to Trenton Canadian Forces Base, ON as the crow flies is 603 km (377 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
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.