1967 — June 23, Plane Fire/Crash, Mohawk Air Flight 40, near Blossburg, PA — 34
— 34 Airdisaster.com. Accident Database. “Accident Synopsis 06231967.”
— 34 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, 23 Jun 1967.
— 34 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 2-8.
— 34 NTSB. AAR. Mohawk Airlines…Near Blossburg PA June 23, 1967. 1968.
Narrative Information
NTSB: Synopsis “A Mohawk Airlines, Inc., BAC 1-11, N1116J, operating as Flight 40, crashed approximately one mile east of the town of Blossburg, Pennsylvania, on June 23, 1967, at approximately 1447 e.d.t. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. The two flight crewmembers, two stewardesses, and 30 passengers aboard the aircraft all received fatal injuries.
“Flight 40 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight which originated in Syracuse, New York, and was destined for Washington, D.C., with an en route stop at Elmira, New York. The flight from Syracuse to Elmira was routine…
“Following takeoff from Elmira at 1439 e.d.t., Flight 40 established radio contact with the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center at 1442 e.d.t., whereupon the flight was cleared direct to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Acknowledgement of this clearance was the last communication received from the aircraft. A subsequent clearance for Flight 40 to climb to 16,000 feet, transmitted by the New York Center at 1444 e.d.t., was received by the flight but their attempted acknowledgement was not received by the Center [nor “were subsequent transmissions from the aircraft of an emergency nature…” (p.4) “…communication with the Center was lost, due to the fire burning through the No. 1 VHF transceiver antenna lead.” (pp. 45-46)]. At about 1447 e.d.t. the New York Center controller observed the radar target of the aircraft appear to slow down, move laterally, and then disappear from his radar scope.
“The aircraft was observed in flight by a number of ground witnesses, who gave varying reports of smoke coming from the tail end of the aircraft as it proceeded south from Mansfield, Pennsylvania, which is about 9 miles north of Blossburg. Two witnesses, located about two miles north of Blossburg, observed large sections of the tail separate from the aircraft in flight, after which fire and smoke emitted from the tail as the aircraft dove into the ground.
“The Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the loss in integrity of the empennage pitch control systems due to a destructive inflight fire which originated in the airframe plenum chamber and, fueled by hydraulic fluid, progressed up into the vertical fin. The fire resulted from engine bleed air flowing back through a malfunctioning nonreturn valve and an open air delivery valve, through the auxiliary power unit in a reverse direction, and exiting into the plenum chamber at temperatures sufficiently high to cause the acoustics linings to ignite. (NTSB. Mohawk. 1968, pp. 1-2)
“The first apparent indication of any difficulty during the flight was an exclamation uttered by the captain during the transmission from the New York Center controller at 1444:11 clearing the flight to 16,000 feet [captured by the cockpit voice recorder which survived the crash]…. At 1444:41 the captain directed the first officer to ‘pull back on your speed’… Immediately thereafter, one of the pilots commented that ‘there’s something screwy here’ and the captain referred to ‘having a little control problem.’ The recording then indicates that the captain took over the controls of the aircraft and decided to return to Elmira, which intention both pilots attempted to transmit on the assigned radio frequency….At 1445:18 the captain exclaimed ‘we lost all control [pause] we don’t have anything.’….At 1446:31 the captain stated ‘we better turn back towards Elmira’, but then apparently changed his mind and said ‘let’s go straight ahead.’…. At 1447:11 the captain stated ‘I’ve gone out of control’, and at 1447:17 the recording ended.”
“The aircraft impacted in a heavily wooded area near the crest of a hill where the terrain was basically level….
Analysis “The investigation disclosed that the only causal factors involved in the accident were those directly associated with the inflight fire which occurred in the rear fuselage and tail section of the aircraft….From a study of the mockup of the inflight fire area, it was determined that the inflight fire originated in the airframe plenum chamber…. By the process of elimination…the only remaining materials within the inflight fire area which could be considered combustibles were Skydrol hydraulic fluid….
Recommendations and Corrective Action
“In a letter to the Administrator of the FAA dated July 25, 1967, the Board made the following recommendations:
(1) That a fireproof barrier of appropriate width be provided at the top fuselage skin between Fuselage Stations 936 and 958 in order to provide effective isolation of the vertical fin…
(2) That the aluminum alloy wall separating the hydraulics bay and the airframe plenum chamber be replaced with a suitable fireproof material….” (NTSB. AAR. Mohawk Airlines…Near Blossburg PA June 23, 1967. 1968.)
Newspaper
June 26: “Utica (AP) — Mohawk Airlines provides the following names and addresses for passengers killed in the crash Friday of Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 near Blossburg, PA.
1. Mrs. Bashore, Winston Salem, N.C.
2. Miss Hope Bashore, daughter, Winston Salem, N.C.
3. James Bay J., 906 Ellison Ave., Falls Church, Va..
4. Father Alexander Beaton, 51, Montour Falls, N.Y.
5. Erwin Booth, 4001 Sneed Road, Nashville, Tenn.
6. Dr. D. L. Branson, 205 Murray Apts., Rolla, Mo.
7. Edward Carroll Jr., 7400 Westfield Road, Richmond, Va.
8. Miss Judith Cory, Akron, N.Y.
9. Sgt. Clancy J. Davis, 1268 Rhaum St., NE, Washington, D.C.
10. Prof. Robert N. Langdon, Fredonia State University, Fredonia, N.Y.
11. Frank Laskowski, West Winfield, N.Y.
12. James Laskowski, son, West Winfield, N.Y.
13. Joseph S. Louzon, 2004 Helmsby Road, Catonsville, Md.
14. George Mingee, 1204 Willow Ave., Mechanicsville, Va.
15. George R. Paige, 2011 Summerdale Dr., Raleigh, N.C.
16. Ruport E. Patton, 1311 Clinton Ave., East, Huntsville, Ala.
17. Frederick R. Phillips Jr., 1431 Ninth St., North, Arlington Va.
18. James E. Pickett, 4909 Battery Lane, Bethesda, Md.
19. Ronald J. Remick, 4070 Barnes Road, Apt. 302, Jacksonville, Fla.
20. Jerry D. Ramos, 3404 Lorring Dr., Suitland, Md.
21. Dwight Spencer, Crabtree Manor, 6 Forks Road, N.C.
22. Father DeSales Standerwick, Montour Falls, N.Y.
23. Walter E. Steele Jr., 2518 Meadow Wood Dr., Nashville, Tenn.
24. Mrs. Pam Switzer, Sackets Harbor, N.Y.
25. Donald M. Thomas, 5412 North Sunland Dr., Virginia Beach. Va.
26. Vernon W. Thoren Jr., 5500 Lanham Station Road, Lanham, Md.
27. Pvt. Donald F. Wiars, Marietta, N.Y.
28. Miss Cynthia A. Witecki, 119 North Fulton St., Auburn, N.Y.
29. James D. Wright, 11904 Bluehill Road, Silver Springs, Md.
30. An unidentified sailor, who boarded the aircraft at Syracuse.
(Post Standard, Syracuse, NY. “List Names, Addresses of Airplane Victims.” 6-26-1967, p. 14.)
June 26: “Memorial services for Capt. Charles E. Bullock, 43, of Ormende Drive, Cazenovia [NY], who died Friday when the Mohawk airliner he was piloting crashed, will be conducted at 2 p.m. tomorrow in…Cazenovia…” (Post Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Capt. Bullock Rites Tomorrow.” 6-26-1967, p. 14.)
Sources
Airdisaster.com. Accident Database. “Accident Synopsis 06231967.” Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=06231967®=N1116J&airline=Mohawk+Airlines
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, 23 Jun 1967. Accessed 3/2/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670623-1
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.
National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Mohawk Airlines, Inc. BAC 1-11, N1116J Near Blossburg PA June 23, 1967. NTSB (File No. 1-0004), April 18, 1968, 64 pp. At: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR68-AG.pdf
Post Standard, Syracuse, NY. “List Names, Addresses of Airplane Victims [Mohawk Air #40].” 6-26-1967, 14. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=39082976