1956 — June 20, Linea Aeropostal Venezolana emer. landing approach fire/crash off NJ–all 74

–74 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 06201956.
–74 Associated Press. “Airliner Crash Probe Started by 2 Nations,” June 21, 1956.
–74 Monmouthtimeline.org. “The Crash of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 June 20 1956.”

Narrative Information

AirDisaster.com: “The aircraft crashed while attempting to return to New York for an emergency landing. The pilots reported that the no. 2 propeller was over-speeding and was unable to be feathered. The vibration of the uncontrollable propeller caused a wing attachment to come loose.” (AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 06201956.)

Monmouthtimeline.org. This Day In Monmouth County History: “On June 20, 1956, Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) Flight 253, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, caught fire and plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean 32 miles off Asbury Park. Flight 253 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Idlewild International Airport, N.Y. (today known as John F. Kennedy International Airport), bound for Caracas International Airport, Venezuela. All 74 aboard were killed; at the time, it was the world’s deadliest disaster involving a scheduled commercial flight. However, its death toll would be surpassed only ten days later.

“The Super Constellation was an elegant four-engine, three-tail commercial jetliner produced between 1943 and 1958. It was the first pressurized commercial aircraft and the first to have a nose wheel. The ‘Connie’ had a complicated start, with three accidents in its first ten months of commercial operation, related to the four-engine array, creating a legend that baptized this aircraft for a long time as ‘the most beautiful trimotor in history,’ since it was said that at least one of its four engines always failed.

“LAV Flight 253 departed Idlewild on time at 11:15 p.m. on June 19. A little over an hour later, around 12:20 a.m. on the 20th, 250 miles east of Norfolk, Va., Commander Luis Francisco Plata reported that engine number 2 had overspeed problems. Shortly thereafter, the pilot declared an emergency as they were unable to ‘feather’ that engine, that is, to rotate the propeller blades so that they did not exert force on their turn. The pilot requested and received permission to turn the plane around and return to Idlewild. After receiving permission to make an emergency landing at Idlewild, two nearby aircraft, an Eastern Airlines commercial jetliner, and a Coast Guard plane, both monitored LAV Flight 253 as it headed toward Long Island.

“At around 1:25 a.m. the plane was off the coast of New Jersey when the crew received permission to drop fuel into the sea, to lighten the airplane for landing. Shortly after starting the fuel dump, observers from both escort aircraft reported seeing the streaming fuel catch fire and erupt in a large fireball. The Super Constellation then turned sharply to its right in a 90-degree bank, followed by a gentle left turn, and hit the sea, exploding instantly. It was barely 10 minutes away from the airport. None of its occupants survived.

“Where did that fire come from? A fuel dump (officially known as fuel jettison) is typically a safe procedure, and one that is only done for good reasons. Certain airplanes are designed to be significantly lighter when landing than when taking off. When a plane lands heavy, it’s very easy to hit the ground too hard and cause damage to the aircraft. In most cases, the burning of hundreds of thousands of pounds of fuel while in flight takes care of the matter, but when a plane such as LAV Flight 253 has to turn around after just one hour, dumping fuel may be necessary to ensure a safe landing. The spilled fuel, however, does not ignite all by itself. In addition, the witnesses on the nearby escort planes saw the fuel from LAV Flight 253 catch fire on the opposite side of the plane from that of the over-speeding engine.

“Investigators concluded that the vibrations of the number 2 motor caused damage to the wing on the opposite side, between the fuel tank and the fuel discharge device, fracturing the wing such that fuel came out through the fractures and in contact with the vapors of engine number 3. Although this explanation could not be determined with absolute certainty, it was the conclusion that closed the file….” (Monmouthtimeline.org. This Day In Monmouth County History. “The Crash of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 June 20, 1956.”)

Newspaper

June 21, AP: “Venezuelan government inspectors flew northward Thursday to try to find out why a giant four-engined airliner burst into flames and fell into the sea within sight of New York carrying 74 persons to death. The Venezuelan Super Constellation crashed 32 miles off the New Jersey coast early Wednesday….Twenty of those aboard were Americans. Of the Venezuelans, 24 were students in this country, 12 to 20 years old, returning home for summer vacations…. The plane left Idlewild airport at 11:18 p.m. Tuesday. Not far from New York one of its engines began spinning wildly out of control. The big ship swung around to return to Idlewild…. On the way back, shepherded by a Coast Guard plane, the pilot…prepared to dump 5,000 gallons of explosive gasoline into the ocean…The pilot’s last words on the radio were: ‘Roger, we’re cleared to drop gas….Roger, we have New York in sight’. Suddenly…a burst of flame bellied under the aircraft. Someone in one of the airliners standing by in the area shouted a warning: ‘Get your speed about 160…you’re on fire’. But there was no time. Like a falling star, the plane nosed over and dived almost straight down, seemed to pull up once, and then struck the ocean. The first boat to reach the scene – a Navy transport – messaged: ‘Found no survivors…Expect to find none’.” (Associated Press. “Airliner Crash Probe Started by 2 Nations,” June 21, 1956.)

Sources

AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 06201956. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=06201956&reg=YV-C-AMS&airline=Linea+Aeropostal+Venezolana

Associated Press. “Airliner Crash Probe Started by 2 Nations.” 6-21-1956. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=53715900&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=0

Monmouthtimeline.org. This Day In Monmouth County History. “The Crash of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 June 20, 1956.” Accessed 3-24-2023 at: https://monmouthtimeline.org/timeline/the-crash-of-linea-aeropostal-venezolana-flight-253/