1962 — July 22, Canadian Pacific Airlines takeoff and go-around crash, Honolulu, HI– 27

— 27 AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 07221962.
— 27 CAB AAR. Canadian Pacific Air…Honolulu International AP…Hawaii, July 22, 1962.
— 27 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 3-7.
— 27 Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 77.

Narrative Information

Civil Aeronautics Board: “Synopsis

“On July 22, 1962, at 2319 H.s.t., a Canadian Pacific Air Lines Bristol Britannia crashed while attempting a three-engine go-around following a landing approach to runway 8 at Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii. Except for the rear portion of the fuselage, and attached tall section, the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. Thirteen of the 40 persons aboard survived the crash.

“Shortly after takeoff from Honolulu for Nandi, Fiji Islands, a fire warning indication caused the pilot to feather the propeller on the No. 1 engine. Fuel was jettisoned, and the flight returned to Honolulu for landing approximately 40 minutes after departure. The three-engine landing approach appeared normal until the aircraft had proceeded beyond the runway threshold and had commenced its landing flare at an altitude of approximately 20 feet above the runway centerline. A go-around was attempted from this position and the aircraft banked and veered sharply to the left. Initial ground contact was made by the left wing tip approximately 550 feet to the left of the runway centerline. The aircraft progressively disintegrated as it moved across the ground, then struck heavy earth-moving-equipment parked approximately 970 feet from the runway centerline….
Investigation

“CF-CZB, a Bristol Britannia 314, had arrived in Honolulu at 0507 1 on July 21, 1962, as Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CPA) Flight 323 from Vancouver, British Columbia. The aircraft and its crew remained in Honolulu overnight as scheduled, and departed the following evening as Empress Flight 301 for Nandi, Fiji Islands; Auckland, New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. There were 29 passengers and a crew of 11 aboard Empress 301….

“Takeoff was commenced at 2238. Approximately two minutes after the aircraft became airborne, and during the climbout, a fire warning indication for the No. 1 engine was received in the cockpit. The No. 1 propeller was feathered and the fire warning indication ceased. The crew then advised the tower local controller that the No. 1 engine had been shut down and they would return to Honolulu for landing. The tower advised Empress 301 that all runways were available and the wind was from the northeast at six knots. The flight then requested runway 8 for landing. Emergency crash and rescue units were alerted and proceeded to standby positions adjacent to this runway.

“Empress 301 then advised the tower that an over-gross landing weight 3 condition existed and fuel jettisoning would be required in order to lighten the aircraft. The aircraft was vectored by radar approach control to an isolated area over the water approximately 20 miles south of Honolulu at an altitude of 4,000 feet. Fuel jettisoning was initiated at 2253 and completed at 2306.

“One of the surviving stewardesses as well as several of the surviving passengers stated that during the fuel jettisoning, Check Captain Giguere and First Officer Eldred came back to the rear passenger cabin on several occasions to visually check on the operation. It was stated that they used a flashlight to observe the jettisoning of fuel from both wings. During one of these trips Captain Giguere mentioned to Mr. William O’Connell (a Canadian Department of Transport Air Carrier Inspector who was seated in the rear passenger cabin) that 35,000 pounds of fuel was being jettisoned. Empress 301 maintained radio silence during this operation; however, radar monitoring and vectoring were continued by approach control. After completing the jettisoning operation two-way radio communication was resumed and the flight was vectored west of the outer marker to intercept the ILS final approach course for runway 8. The flight later reported departing the outer marker and, after receiving clearance to land, reported the landing gear down. After the flight reported passing the low frequency radio range station it was again cleared by the tower to land The acknowledgement of this landing clearance was the final transmission received from Empress 301 and occurred approximately 50 seconds prior to impact.

“Fire and rescue personnel first observed Empress 301 when its landing lights were turned on. The aircraft was then on final approach over Pearl Harbor Channel. Witnesses stated that the aircraft passed over the approach end of runway 8 in what appeared to be a normal approach attitude at an estimated altitude of between 50 and 100 feet. The No 1 propeller was observed to be feathered and the landing gear extended. After continuing above the runway for a short distance, the aircraft was described to bank and turn sharply to the left, contact the ground, and burn.

“Twenty passengers and the seven flight crew members sustained fatal injuries. The 13 survivors received varying degrees of crash injuries and burns.

“Nine of the survivors were interviewed and their recollections generally corroborate the statements of the witnesses on the ground. A detailed account of the landing approach was given by passenger O’Connell. He said the three-engine approach was normal, . . . “rather flat, and that he felt the landing gear, . . .come down and lock, approximately two minutes before the aircraft crossed over the runway threshold at an altitude of approximately 100 feet. The aircraft continued its descent to an altitude of between 20 and 40 feet and approximately over the runway centerline. It then leveled off momentarily, the nose was raised, and engine power applied as if a go-around were being initiated. The aircraft then banked and veered to the left, passed over the runways left boundary, and seconds later contacted the ground on its left wing. He also stated that approximately eight seconds elapsed from the momentary level-off to the first impact.

“It was determined that the aircraft first contacted the ground on its left wing tip approximately 550 feet left of the centerline of runway 8 and approximately 1,700 feet beyond the threshold of the runway. Evidence indicated that the aircraft was, at the point of initial contact, in a left bank of between 10 and 20 degrees, slightly nose-down, and on a heading of approximately 40 degrees magnetic. Examination of the wreckage distribution path indicated that the dragging of the left wing across the ground caused its disintegration and at the same time decreased the radius of curvature of the path of the aircraft This was accompanied by rotation of the aircraft about its vertical axis and was immediately followed by the destruction of the forward fuselage when it contacted the ground. The aircraft proceeded across the ground for approximately 680 feet in a tightening arc until it was nearly perpendicular to runway 8 with the tail pointing away from the runway. It continued rearward, tail-high, into three construction vehicles that were parked approximately 970 feet from the runway centerline. The rear portion of the fuselage and attached tail section separated from the main wreckage and continued tail-first approximately 50 feet to the north, right side up, and canted 45 degrees to the right.

“The flight deck and main fuselage section were essentially destroyed by impact and the fire that ensued. The rear fuselage section, from a position just forward of the galley, remained intact with the tail section still attached. It passed over and partially demolished a construction field office building before coning to rest beyond the parked earth-moving equipment. Because of the tail-first movement of this section, most of the damage was inflicted to the tail cone and empennage….

“The Assistant Fire Chief was standing by in an emergency truck just off the edge, and near the approach end of the runway prior to the accident. He stated that all conditions observed during the approach appeared to be normal and that the landing gear was in the extended position. He observed no vehicular or pedestrian traffic on or adjacent to the runway. The tower local controller verified his statement that no vehicular traffic was observed on or in proximity to runway 8. The fire and rescue crews proceeded to the crash scene immediately and succeeded in keeping the fire from the rear portion of the fuselage but were unable to extinguish the fire which had completely engulfed the main section of the aircraft….

“Eleven of the 13 survivors had been seated in the rear fuselage section which had separated from the aircraft. The other two survivors had been seated in the main fuselage section just forward of where the aircraft broke apart. Although they were seated in an area of severe disintegration, they were thrown clear of the wreckage still strapped in their seats.

Analysis

“….The Board is unable to determine the reason why a go-around would have been attempted at so late a stage in the approach and with the aircraft still in the full landing configuration. There was no evidence to indicate a go-around was required in order to avoid any obstacles, vehicles or pedestrians that may have been on the runway….

“The remaining most obvious and compelling reason for a go-around under the pre-described circumstances would be the receipt of an unsafe landing gear warning horn and/or light in the cockpit when the throttles were retarded. However, there was no physical evidence found to substantiate this possibility….

“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the attempted three-engine go-around, when the aircraft was in a full landing configuration, at insufficient airspeed and altitude to maintain control.” (CAB. Canadian Pacific Air…Honolulu…Hawaii, July 22, 1962.)

Schmitt: “July 22, 1962: A Canadian Pacific Airlines 4-engine jet-prop Britannia which had taken off from Honolulu International Airport for Fiji just 10 minutes earlier turned back with one engine out, missed the runway and crashed. This accident, the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner on Island soil, took 27 lives of the 40 on board.” (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 77.)

Sources

AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 07221962. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=07221962&reg=CF-CZB&airline=Canadian+Pacific+Airlines

Civil Aeronautics Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Canadian Pacific Air Lines, Bristol Britannia 314 Canadian Registry CF-CZB, Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 22, 1962 (File No. 1-0011). Washington, DC: CAB, 8-13-1963, 22 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*S%3A%5CDOT_56GB%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C072262.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.

Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 86 pages. Accessed 9-20-2012 at: Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii – eVols – University of Hawaii. Accessed at: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fevols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10524%2F150%2FJL03074.pdf%3Fsequence%3D2&ei=UPSvVK2bLoO4yQTO74L4DA&usg=AFQjCNHER9A57xAr6d0m9mJcnsc4F2Z8Gg&bvm=bv.83339334,d.aWw