1963 — Jan 29, Continental Airlines Flight 290 crash, Kansas City Municipal Airport, MO– 8

–8  AP. “Jet crashes in Kansas City killing All 8…aboard.” Oswego Palladium-Times, NY, 1-30-1963, 1.

–8  ICAO.[1] Aircraft Accident Digest No. 15, Volume II. ICAO Circular 78-AN/66, Vol. II. 1967.

 

Narrative Information

 

No. 5

 

Continental Air Lines, Inc., Vickers Viscount 812, N242V accident

At Kansas City Municipal Airport, Kansas City, Missouri on 29 January 1963.

Civil Aeronautics Board (U.S.A.) Aircraft Accident Report,

File No. 1-0002, released 17 June 1964.

 

“…History of the flight

 

“Flight 290 was a scheduled domestic flight from Midland, Texas to Kansas City, Missouri with various intermediate stops including Tulsa, Oklahoma. After an uneventful flight the aircraft reached Tulsa at 2120 hours central standard time where it was refueled. It took off from Tulsa at 2154 with a crew of three and five passengers and was cleared for an IFR flight to Kansas City, which was routine up until the approach to land. After it reported passing Pleasant Hill at 5 000 ft, the flight was turned by Olathe Radar Approach Control over to Kansas City Approach Control and instructed to maintain 5 000 ft and depart Blue Springs (VOR) on a heading of 315°, which was a radar vector to the ILS final approach course. The altimeter setting was given as 30. 32, the wind as 360°/9 kt, and the flight was instructed to circle and land on runway 36. These instructions were acknowledged. The flight was then cleared to 2 500 ft, vectored to a point one mile north of the outer marker on the final approach and transferred to the local controller, who cleared it to land. Having been advised by the controller that it could make a straight-in landing, if desired, and that the wind was 360° at 6 kt the flight crew stated that it would land straight in on runway 18. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft.

 

“Based on eyewitnesses’ statements and flight recorder information the final portion of the flight was reconstructed… The aircraft passed over the runway threshold, with its landing gears extended, at a height of about 80 ft and at an airspeed of 132 kt. It then flew over the 7 000 ft runway in what appeared to be a go-around. Its altitude remained practically constant up to a point 3 000 ft after the runway threshold where it started to loose height progressively, reaching a height of 50 ft, it then climbed again up to a height of approximately 90 ft which was reached shortly after passing the end of the runway, at that point the aircraft nosed over sharply into a steep dive and crashed. During that same time the airspeed which remained relatively constant during the first 700 ft over the runway started to decrease progressively, reaching 118 kt at a point approximately 2 200 ft past the runway threshold, it then increased steadily to reach 138 kt at the time of the nose-over. The acceleration “G” trace varied little from a point about 750 ft after the runway threshold to the point at which the aircraft nosed over. However, at the time the nose-over occurred, the trace showed a negative excursion, which was terminated at -0.9G by the impact. During the flight over the runway the aircraft’s heading remained within 2° of the published ILS localizer heading of 184° magnetic. The aircraft struck a blast mound[2] with its nose gear about 23 ft right of the extended runway centre line and 284 ft beyond the south end of runway 18 on a heading of about 1840 magnetic. The aircraft’s attitude at impact was more than 22° below the horizon, wings level. The aircraft slid over the crest of the blast mound, sailed over the perimeter road, struck the side of a river dike and skidded over the top of the dike towards the Missouri River. The main wreckage came to rest 680 ft beyond the end of the runway. The accident occurred at 2244 hours…. [p. 34]

“Findings….Icing conditions were existing in the Kansas City areas, with temperature ranging from -2°C to -12°C. The aircraft was in the icing region 8 to 10 minutes…. [p. 42]

 

“The Board believed that the air craft accumulated ice during its descent to Kansas City. The airfoil anti-icing system was not turned on and the crew was unaware of the icing accumulation because the windshield anti-icing system was used continuously. In this instance the aircraft did not reach the angle of attack critical for the horn type ice formation being carried on the horizontal stabilizer leading edge, until it passed over the south end of the runway and the airspeed increased to approximately 138 kt. At this point a combination of airspeed and flap position resulted in an angle of attack at which the tailplane down loading was lost and the aircraft pitched over. Although the evidence indicated the pilot was attempting recovery when the aircraft struck the blast mound, the pitch over started in an altitude too low to render such action effective.

“Cause or Probable cause(s)

 

“The probable cause of this accident was an undetected accretion of ice on the horizontal stabilizer which, in conjunction with a specific airspeed and configuration caused a loss of pitch control.” [p. 43] (ICAO. “Continental Air Lines…accident at Kansas City Municipal Airport…Missouri on 29 January 1963, 1967, pp. 34-43.)

 

Jan 30: “Kansas City, Mo. (AP)–A sleek prop-jet airliner, coming in for a landing at Kansas City Municipal Airport, crashed into a dike at the end of a runway Tuesday night [Jan 29], killing all eight persons aboard. The four-engine Continental Airlines Viscount had seats for 59 passengers but carried only five. All that was left was a mass of tangled wreckage that burned fiercely for 20 minutes.

 

“Dead, in addition of the five passengers, were the three crew members. All eight bodies were recovered. The victims included:

 

Capt. Joseph William Smith, 46, Dallas, Tex., the pilot.

First officer S. Clark George, 34, Dallas.

Hostess Ann Lewis, 26…Abilene, Tex.

 

Passengers:

Mary Ann Stewart, 21, Kansas City…

Mrs. Elmer Russell, 70, Kansas City, Kan.

Her son, Richard, 32, Kansas City, Kan.

E.N. Johnson, Chicago Heights, Ill.

Nathan E. Garber, St. Louis.

 

“R. O. Ziegler, assistant chief of air traffic for the Federal Aviation Agency here, said…Flight 290 from Midland, Tex., approached from north to south toward the business district, just across the Missouri River from the airport. ‘It made a normal approach until about 50 feet above the north end of the runway at which time it appeared to level off and climb slightly. It proceeded over the runway until it reached the south end of the field, when the nose appeared to drop sharply and the aircraft disappeared from view behind the dike.’

 

“Witnesses said the craft hit an earthen bunker and bounced over a 9-foot wire fence. It skidded up the slope of the dike and catapulted into undergrowth 150 yards from the river….” (Associated Press. “Jet Crashes in Kansas City Killing All 8 Persons Aboard.” Oswego Palladium-Times, NY, 1-30-1963, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Jet Crashes in Kansas City Killing All 8 Persons Aboard.” Oswego Palladium-Times, NY, 1-30-1963, p. 1. Accessed 2-17-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oswego-palladium-times-jan-30-1963-p-1/

 

International Civil Aviation Organization. Aircraft Accident Digest No. 15, Volume II. ICAO Circular 78-AN/66, Vol. II. Montreal, Canada: ICAO, 1967, 260 pages. Accessed 2-17-2019 at:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjo5ryT88PgAhUG3IMKHQmXBPYQFjAAegQIBxAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Faviation.mid.gov.kz%2Fimages%2Fstories%2Fcontents%2F078_vol_2_en.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1u8KGrv0rM1KppIZcN9ZpK

[1] International Civil Aviation Organization. Montreal, Canada.

[2] A large mound of dirt that shelters the airport perimeter road from jet blast and propeller wash of aircraft taking off on runway 36.