1958 — April 6, Capital Airlines Flight 67 approach crash, near Freeland, Michigan — 47
–47 Airdisaster.com. Accident Database. “Accident Synopsis 04061958.”
–47 CAB. AAR. Capital Air…Viscount, Tri-City Airport, Freeland, Michigan, April 6, 1958.
–47 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 3.5.
Narrative Information
Civil Aeronautics Board: “At 2319, April 6, 1958, a Capital Airlines Viscount, N7437, crashed and burned near Tri-City Airport, Freeland, Michigan. All 44 passengers and the 3 crew members were killed.
“Capital Airlines Flight 67, a regularly scheduled flight between New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, was making final approach at Freeland by visual reference to the ground when the accident occurred. While making a left turn to final approach the aircraft was flown beyond the extended centerline of the runway and its bank was steepened considerably to effect realignment. The aircraft was observed to return to level flight and pitch steeply to the ground. Weather observations at the time indicated a ceiling of approximately 900 feet, rather severe gusty surface winds, and moisture and temperature conditions conducive to a rapid accumulation of ice on the airframe. The stall warning device of the aircraft is believed to have been inoperative at the time of the accident.
“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an undetected accretion of ice on the horizontal stabilizer which, in conjunction with a specific airspeed and aircraft configuration, caused a loss of pitch control….
“As a corrective measure the Board brought to the attention of the Civil Aeronautics Administration the necessity of having the stall warning device on Viscount aircraft function properly at all times. Accordingly, corrective action is being taken by the FAA and the carrier to ensure, insofar as is practicable, that this device functions as is required.
“Furthermore, the inadequacies in the wind observing equipment were drawn to the attention of the Weather Bureau and more modern equipment has now been installed.
“The lack of night-time visibility check points is a problem which is not peculiar to the Tri-City Airport at Freeland. Discussions with the Weather Bureau regarding this problem have revealed that they hope to overcome the problem to a large extent by installing automatic runway visibility measuring equipment at all airport weather stations. This visibility program is part of the Weather Bureau’s current five year plan.” (CAB. AAR. Capital Air…Viscount, Tri-City Airport, Freeland, Michigan, April 6, 1958.)
Sources
AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 04061958. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=04061958®=N7437&airline=Capitol+Airlines
Civil Aeronautics Board. Aircraft Accident Report (Revised). Capital Airlines, Inc., Viscount, Tri-City Airport, Freeland, Michigan, April 6, 1958. 2-17-1965. Accessed 4-10-2020 at: https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1958/19580406-0_VISC_N7437.pdf
Kimura, Chris Y. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Edition, 1946-1993, Volume 1: Jet and Turboprop Aircrafts. Livermore, CA: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Risk Assessment and Nuclear Engineering Group. 4-11-1994.