1968 — Dec 27, Fire, Taxiing North Central Air 458, hits hangar in fog, O’Hare, IL — 28

–28 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Descrip. North Central Air Flight 458, 27 Dec 1968.
–28 Kimura. World Commercial Aircraft Accidents 3rd Ed., 1946-1993, V.1. 4-11-1994, p. 3-11.
–28 NTSB AAR. North Central Airlines… O’Hare Int. Airport, Chicago, IL, Dec 27, 1968.
–26 NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 13.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network: This was a flight from Milwaukee-General Mitchell Airport, Wisconsin to O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, with a crew of four and 41 passengers. The pilot lost control of the aircraft when performing a go-around in bad weather (200 feet ceiling, light rain and fog). The Convair crashed nearly inverted on a hangar….One person was also killed on the ground.” (ASN. AD. North Central Air Flight 458, 27Dec1968; cites NTSB/AAR-70-27, 12-NOV-1970.)

National Fire Protection Association: “The most serious transportation fire in terms of loss of life [in 1968] occurred in Chicago on December 27 when a Convair 580 turbo-prop airliner with 45 people aboard crashed into a hangar at O’Hare International Airport. The accident occurred while the plane was taxiing in fog and rain to the gate. The aircraft and the hangar caught fire. Although there were no other aircraft in the hangar at the time, eight teen-age members of a drum-and-bugle corps practicing in the hangar suffered injuries. Twenty-six people aboard the Convair were killed in the fire, but the action of the hangar’s five six-inch deluge systems fed by automatic fire pumps was credited with helping to reduce the number of lives lost and also with controlling the fire involving the aircraft.” (NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 13.)

National Transportation Safety Board:
Synopsis

“North Central Airline, Flight 458,. A Convair 580, crashed while it was on an instrument approach at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, at approximately 2022 c.s.t., on December 27, 1968.

“The aircraft struck the side of a hangar, located adjacent to the approach end of the runway, in a near-inverted attitude, and was destroyed by impact and resultant ground fire. Twenty-seven of the 45 persons on board the aircraft, including the pilot, copilot, and an additional crewmember who was occupying the observer’ s seat, were fatally injured. One person in the hangar also received fatal injuries as a result of the accident.

“At the time of the approach, the reported weather conditions were 200-foot ceiling, sky obscured in light rain and fog, with the recorded runway visibility (RVR) 2,800 feet variable to 4,500 feet.

“According to information obtained from surviving passengers, and the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, the approach was normal until the aircraft had descended to approximately 210 feet above the elevation of the airport about 4,500 feet from the threshold of Runway 14R. At this point, the aircraft entered a sustained climb for approximately 11 seconds, at which point ‘go-around’ procedures were initiated by the captain. However, the climb continued and the airspeed dropped off to the point where aerodynamic control of the aircraft was lost. Recovery was not effected and the aircraft impacted the hangar.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was spatial disorientation of the captain precipitated by atmospheric refraction of either the approach lights or landing lights at a critical point in the approach wherein the crew was transitioning between flying by reference to flight instruments and by visual reference to the ground.” (NTSB. North Central Air… O’Hare Int. Airport, Chicago, IL, Dec 27, 1968, p. 1.)

History of the Flight

“North Central Airlines, , Inc. (NCA) Flight 458, an Allison Prop-Jet Convair CV-580, N2045, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight originating in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and terminating at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, with en route stops at Wausau, Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“The flight departed Minneapolis on schedule at 1615 on December 27, 1968. The flight operated routinely through Wausau, Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee….At 2009, after having been cleared to descend to 6,000 feet by the Chicago Air Traffic Control Center, the aircraft was handed off to O’Hare Approach Control….At 2020, Flight 358 was cleared to land. The acknowledgment of this clearance was the last communication from the aircraft.

“The accident occurred at 2022:23, as determined from the cockpit voice recorder tape. The aircraft impacted the main door of a hangar located approximately 1,600 feet from the left edge of the runway and approximately 100 feet longitudinally southeast of the threshold.

“There were only three ground witnesses who actually saw the aircraft just prior to its impact with the hangar. One of these witnesses was driving southbound on an airport road near the approach end of Runway 14R. His attention was drawn by the sound of an aircraft (loud engine noise) which appeared to be coming from the vicinity of the approach end of the runway. He continued to hear this noise for approximately 5 seconds and then saw the aircraft in flight proceeding in a northeast direction toward the hangar. When he first saw the aircraft, it was at an altitude of about 100 feet and in an approximate 50 [degree] bank to the left. The aircraft was in a nose-high attitude but appeared to be settling rather than climbing. The aircraft appeared to be unstable and not in a ‘normal’ left turn. He observed the left wing contact the ramp approximately 100 feet in front of the hangar, sending up a shower of sparks. This was followed almost immediately by the aircraft’s hitting the hangar door in a near-vertical bank and then continuing into the hangar in an inverted position….

“All of these witnesses stated that the visibility in the area of the accident site and the approach end of Runway 14R was very restricted due to fog and a light, misting rain.

“The captain of a jet transport aircraft, which had landed on Runway 14R approximately 2 minutes before the accident, testified that the approach was normal for a low-visibility approach. He stated that the copilot reported the approach lights in sight when the aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 350 feet, and that he took over visually at an altitude of about 200 feet. At this point, he had the threshold and runway lights in view and landed the aircraft without difficulty…..

“The surviving stewardess testified regarding her recollections of the flight and the approach into O’Hare. She stated that the entire trip had been performed in a routine manner up until the final stages of the approach into Chicago. The first thing she noticed out of the ordinary was the ‘power being added’ and that ‘it just appeared to be a normal go-around, as climbing out.’ She also stated that the pitch-up of the aircraft appeared to be normal for a go-around but that it felt as if the engine did not have quite the power to pull up. Following the application of power, the aircraft rolled from side to side two or three times….

“At the time of the accident, there were a number of airline employees, as well as a boys’ drum and bugle corps group, in and around the main hangar bay area. Seven of these boys sustained varying degrees of injuries mainly consisting of burns and small lacerations. One of the boys succumbed to the injuries, or complications thereof, 9 days after the accident….

“…fatalities and most severe injuries were generally associated with failures of the occupant restraint system….

Analysis

“All of the evidence obtained during the investigation, including the statements of the surviving stewardess and passengers, indicate that the flight was routine and that the approach was normal until approximately 35 seconds prior to the crash. At this time, the airplane was approximately 4,500 feet from the approach end of the Runway 14R, slightly right of the centerline approaching the middle marker, and about 210 feet above the runway elevation. The landing check was completed, the flight had been cleared to land, the first officer hd the approach lights in sight at the 1.2 o’clock position. At this point, the flight recorder shows that the aircraft commenced a sustained climb straight ahead. The aircraft gained approximately 230 feet of altitude in 11 seconds (1,244 feet per minute), at which point the captain issued the commands associated with a go-around, i.e., maximum power and flap retraction to 15 [degrees]. The aircraft continued to climb an additional 500 feet in approximately 13 more seconds (2,308 feet per minute) with an attendant decrease in airspeed to 80 knots. At this point, the aircraft was well within the stall buffet regime and the FDR altitude trace shows an abrupt and rapid loss of altitude and a sharp turn to the left, culminating with ground impact.

“Slightly more than 2 seconds before the peak altitude had been reached, the captain called for the landing gear to be retracted. Subsequent examination of the aircraft wreckage confirmed that the landing gear was retracted and that the flaps were positioned at 13 [degrees] at impact….

“From the above and in conjunction with the lack of any evidence that could indicate any problem with the aircraft, approach aid systems, or aircraft controllability, it appears that both the captain and the first officer failed to recognize the aircraft’s nose-high attitude…during the final stages of the climb) and took no positive action to lower the nose. Similarly there are no remarks on the CVR [cockpit voice recorder] that would indicate that the crew was alarmed at the aircraft’s attitude prior to the loss of control….

“At 0221:54.6, approximately 3 seconds after the climb commenced, there was an expletive uttered by the captain which is indicative of some concern or irritation on his part, but for about 8 additional seconds the aircraft continued to climb until the sound of the full power application (increased ambient cockpit noise) is heard. Only then (o222:03.0) did the pilot call for ‘go-around’ power.

“It is believed that during these 8 seconds the pilot suffered severe spatial disorientation which precluded his effecting a successful recovery…. Based on the remarks by the crew, the observations of a surviving passenger, and the events that occurred, it appears that there is a direct tie-in between some degree of intensity of refracted light and the apparent disorientation suffered by the pilot.

“It is known that pilots have experienced spatial disorientation in rapid transition from visual to instrument flight conditions, from sudden encounters with marginal visibility, and in entry to rotational maneuvers. In such cases, it has not been unusual for pilot confusion concerning attitude and altitude to result….” (NTSB. North Central Airlines… O’Hare, Dec 27, 1968.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. North Central Airlines Flight 458, 27 Dec 1968. Accessed 3-2-2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19681227-0

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 Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, pp. 12-14.

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. North Central Airlines, Inc. Convair 580, N2045, O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, December 27, 1968 (SA-409, File No. 1-0040, Report No: NTSB-AAR-70-27). Washington, DC: NTSB, Adopted November 12, 1970, 49 pages. At: http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR70-27.pdf