Since his reply was negative, the approach controller closed the airport and activated the airport emergency plan. Twenty of the 47 occupants on board were killed. The accident occurred less than two weeks after a similar crash, also operated by the same airline. One first officer did point out that everyone has a strong sense of survival, and that in a life or death scenario he might take control, but that he wouldnt know for sure unless placed in such a situation. High 48F. [4], In 1960, Allegheny headquarters were in Washington, D.C.[5]. Shortly after takeoff smoke and fire were observed coming from the right engine and at approximately 1505:30 the captain advised "Six oh four is coming back in, we've got the right engine feathered. The crash occurred moments later on the crest of a ridge approximately 600 feet above the airport elevation. I had an ax with me under my seat in my snowmobile.. Twelve of the passengers recalled that shortly after liftoff, the aircraft rolled to the right, back to the left, and back to the right. In a better world, First Officer Walker would have been granted the confidence to say this isnt safe, taking the controls and steering the plane away from its fiery end in the nick of time. Like many crashes in its day, Allegheny Airlines flight 485 was treated as another drop in the bucket, an article on the deaths of 28 people on a Connecticut beach barely squeezing onto the bottom of the front page of the New York Times. Fifteen people perished in the cramped tail section, jammed against one another in utter darkness and intense heat as they fought to open a door that seemingly wouldnt budge. The captain declined the offer and about 1257 he taxied the aircraft from the parking ramp. With the single flight attendant and some 34 passengers on board, flight 485 taxied away from the gate at Washington, D.C. right on schedule at about a quarter after 7:00. Thereafter the flight returned to Benedum Airport and landed at 1146. The Convair descended in light snow showers until the aircraft contacted trees along terrain which had an average upslope of 1.5deg some 2,5 NM short of the runway. The scheduled passenger domestic flight took off from Washington D.C., headed for Detroit, Michigan, with intermediate stops in Harrisburg, Bradford, and Erie, Pennsylvania. At 20:35, the aircraft struck treetops just 4.7 nautical miles (8.7 km) from the airport, subsequently crashing through some trees that were bordering the Pine Acres Golf Course. In the cabin, 27-year-old stewardess Judith Manning had suffered severe fractures to her ribs, clavicle, and spine, incapacitating her the 28 passengers were on their own. Debbie Mooney's Visit to the Crash Site. At 8:41, the pilots received permission to attempt an instrument approach to New London. Please support this channel by following me on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/allecibayAllegheny Airlines Flight 737 was a Convair CV-580 (aircraft registrat. Shortly after takeoff, when the controller instructed him to perform a 360-degree loop, he responded by cancelling the flights Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan and switching to Visual Flight Rules (VFR) instead, which allowed him to proceed straight ahead under his own vigilance. He also worked to save fuel right out of the gate: when the controller cleared him to taxi to runway 15, he requested runway 3 instead, because it was closer. After retiring earlier aircraft, Allegheny, before and after its mergers, mainly flew De Havilland Canada Dash 8s to 35 airports in the northeastern United States, and eventually Canada, from hubs at Boston and Philadelphia. ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 N5802 Bradford Airport, PA (BFD) Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 was a Convair CV-580 (aircraft registration N5825), [2] that crashed while attempting to land at Bradford Regional Airport in Bradford, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1969. He also ignored a company directive which forbid landing at New Haven with a tailwind. The crash of Flight 737 came just under two weeks after Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashed in a near-identical manner on approach to Bradford Airport on the same route, but in the opposite direction. 303 North Main Street, Port Allegany, PA 16743. This fact alone should be enough to cause any pilot to take an interest in the facts of the case. As flight 485 neared New London, the weather on the ground was atrocious: fog had restricted visibility to less than a mile (1600m) with a 200-foot (60m) indefinite cloud ceiling. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. Allegheny Airlines was also the first airline with a network of affiliated regional airlines, the Allegheny Commuter system, which began with Henson Airlines in 1967. The failure of the right engine is attributed to the failure of the front row master rod and all the associated link rods. It collided midair with a Piper PA-28, killing over 80 people. With the layer of ground fog stretching from about 100 feet up to 400 feet, it would have been obvious to the crew that they could not legally land under these conditions. The Sound really was too close for comfort, in his opinion. In analyzing the relations between the two pilots, the NTSB did make note of Eastridges reputation as a strict commander who made it clear that he was in charge. Contributing to the accident was the tower controller's failure to provide timely below-minimum RVR information. "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 N5825 Bradford Airport, PA (BFD)", "Probers Express Amazement Over Similarity of 2 Crashes", "Allegheny's Restrictions Cut Landings; Self-Imposed Visibility Rules Canceling Stops", Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 at Airdisaster.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allegheny_Airlines_Flight_737&oldid=1129269113, Accidents and incidents involving the Convair CV-240 family, Airliner accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania, Airliner accidents and incidents with an unknown cause, Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain, Allegheny Airlines accidents and incidents, Transportation in McKean County, Pennsylvania, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1969, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 December 2022, at 11:49. During that time the aircraft was refueled to 3,000 lbs of Jet-A fuel (1,500 lbs in each wing tank), and all surfaces were deiced with a mixture of unheated ethylene glycol and water. Erie Approach Control then told the crew to contact the Bradford Flight Service Station (FSS). In command of all four legs would be 39-year-old Captain David Gordon Eastridge and 34-year-old First Officer James Walker, who had about 12,000 and 4,000 hours of experience respectively. At 20:08:47 the flight reported that they were doing the procedure turn inbound for runway 32 and Bradford FSS told them wind was 290 degrees at 15 knots. The Allegheny aircraft was carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew members and the private aircraft had one occupant, a student pilot attempting to fly across country.

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allegheny airlines crash