1960 — Oct 4, Eastern Air Electra takeoff bird strike, crash, Logan IAP, Boston, MA– 62
— 62 AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 10041960.
— 62 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Eastern Flight 375, Oct 4, 1960.
— 62 CAB. AAR. Eastern Air Lines…Logan International Airport, Boston, MA, Oct 4, 1960.
— 62 Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Electra Plane Crash, 1960.”
Narrative Information
CAB: “On October 4, 1960, at 1740 e.d.t., an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Electra, N 5533, crashed into Winthrop Bay immediately following takeoff from runway 9 at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts. Ten of the 72 persons aboard survived the crash. The aircraft was totally destroyed.” (CAB. Eastern…Logan…4 Oct 1960.)
Celebrate Boston: “The accident was caused by the ingestion of starlings into the four engines, which stalled them. At take-off, the aircraft became airborne as normal, but a flock of starlings abruptly flew into the path of the plane. The Electra rolled left from an altitude of about 300 feet, and crashed almost vertically into the shallow water just north of the runway.” (Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Electra Plane Crash, 1960.”)
Upon impact “The huge craft split in two and sank in comparatively shallow water. Most of the passengers were trapped in their seats. Some of the dead floated to the surface like corks. There was a scene of horror in the setting sun as lifeless bodies strapped to seats drifted toward the muddy shore at low tide.” (Newark Advocate. “61 Killed in Boston Plane Crash,” Oct 5, 1960.”)
Celebrate Boston: “A swift rescue effort was launched by local emergency response people. Boats searched for survivors, and divers were quickly dispatched in a recovery operation. The tide was low that afternoon, and no wreckage was visible above the surface of the water. The impact of the crash broke up the plane and embedded the pieces into the mud of the shallow flats.
“Nearby residents assisted in the initial rescue effort. A disturbing aspect of the accident was that the plane was not visible on the surface of the water. The seats in the aircraft were quite buoyant, and many people died while still strapped in their seats, which floated upside down to the surface of the water….
“This event still stands as the worst accident in airline history caused by a bird-strike. Some of the good results of the Electra crash were minimum ingestion standards for propeller driven aircraft, and the start of comprehensive and standardized airport wildlife management plans.” (Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Electra Plane Crash, 1960.”)
Sources
AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 10041960. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=10041960®=N5533&airline=Eastern+Air+Lines
Aviation Safety Network. Database. Eastern Air Lines 375, Tuesday 4 October 1960, 17:40. Flight Safety Foundation. Accessed 4-10-2020 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19601004-0
Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Electra Plane Crash, 1960.” Accessed at: http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/aviation/crash1960.htm
Civil Aeronautics Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., Lockheed Electra L-188 N 5533, Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, October 4, 1960. Washington, DC: CAB, July 31, 1962, 15 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C100460.pdf