Braniff International Airways

Lockheed L-188 Electra

Flight 542 departed the ramp at Houston at 2237LT, 22 minutes behind schedule with a total of 34 persons including a crew of six consisting of Captain Wilson Elza Stone, First Officer Dan Hollowell, Second Officer Roland Longhill, and Stewardesses Alvilyn Harrison, Betty Rusch and Leona Winkler, none of whom survived. The delayed departure was due to a mechanical discrepancy involving No. 3 generator. This generator was inoperative on arrival of N9705C at Houston. Prior to departure from Houston the Nos. 3 and 4 voltage regulators were interchanged. Actual gross weight upon departure was calculated at 83,252 pounds, including 17,000 pounds of fuel, and was 16,548 pounds less than the authorized gross weight of 99,800 pounds. The estimated time en route to Dallas was 41 minutes. The flight was given an instrument-flight-rules clearance which was to the Leona omni, via Victor Airway 13 west to the Gulf Coast intersection, direct to Leona, to maintain 2,300 feet altitude to Gulf Coast, then to climb to and maintain 9,000. At approximately 2240 the flight was cleared for takeoff and at 2242 it reported ready for takeoff and was airborne at 2244. After takeoff Houston departure control advised that it had the flight in radar contact and requested it to report when established outbound on the 345-degree radial of the Houston omni. Flight 542 complied and subsequently was cleared to 9,000 feet and advised to contact San Antonio Center on 121.1 mcs. upon passing the Gulf Coast intersection. Flight 542 reported to company radio at 2251 as blocking out of Houston at 37, taking off at 42, to cruise at 15,000 feet when so cleared, estimating Dallas at 2325, and that the Center had this information. At approximately 2252 Flight 542 reported to San Antonio Center as being over Gulf Coast intersection at 9,000 feet. The flight was then issued its destination clearance to the Dallas Airport via direct to Leona, direct to Trinidad, direct to Forney, direct to Dallas, to maintain 15,000 feet. The flight was cleared to climb to its cruising altitude. The next transmission from Flight 542 was to the San Antonio, Center, giving the time over Leona as 05 at 15,000. San Antonio Center acknowledged, and requested Flight 542 to change over and monitor the Fort Worth frequency of 120.8 mcs. at this time. The flight acknowledged. Shortly thereafter Flight 542 contacted company radio with a message for maintenance, advising that the generators were then OK out that there had been insufficient time for maintenance to insulate the terminal strip on No. 3 propeller at Houston and it would like to have it done in Dallas. At this time the flight also said it would give the communication center a Dallas estimate of 25. This was then followed by one other item for maintenance, which was that No. 3 sump pump was inoperative. This was the final transmission from the flight and was logged as completed at 2307. Structural failure of the aircraft occurred at approximately 2309 on course to the next fix, Trinidad intersection. The radial from Leona omni to Trinidad intersection is 344 degrees. The main wreckage was located 19.7 miles 2 north of Leona omni, 3.19 miles east-southeast of Buffalo, Texas. The time, 2309, correlates closely with the information obtained from witnesses to the accident as well as the time indicated on impact-stopped watches recovered at the scene. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 34 occupants were killed.

Douglas DC-7

Braniff International Flight 971 was originally scheduled to depart New York, New York, for Miami, Florida, on March 23, 1958, at 2355 but this leg of the flight was not made owing to shortage of equipment and scheduling difficulties on that date. N 5904 was ferried from Dallas, Texas, to Miami, arriving at 1915 on March 24 for use as Flight 971. The aircraft was serviced and made reedy for the trip to Panama City, Panama, the first scheduled stop on the route to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The crew consisted of Captain Thomas D. George, First Officer John C. Winthrop, Jr., Second Officer Charles F. Fink, Steward Alberto Zapatero, and Stewardess Madelon Campion. The flight departed the Miami terminal at 2356, taxied to runway 27R where engine runup was made, after which a normal takeoff was accomplished. Shortly after takeoff, and in accordance with tower clearance, a climbing right turn was started. During the turn the No. 3 engine malfunctioned and a fire developed in that area. The airplane, still in a right turn, started to lose altitude rapidly. While traveling in a north-northeasterly direction it struck in an open marsh containing scattered trees and underbrush. Rescue operations were immediately initiated but were seriously hampered by heavy ground traffic of sightseers attracted to the area. Several of the passengers and crew members were airlifted by U. S. Coast Guard helicopters direct to hospital grounds in Miami and the others were removed to nearby ambulances and taken to hospitals.

Convair CV-340

Flight 560 is a Braniff daily scheduled flight between Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, with intermediate stops at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; and Kansas City, Missouri. On July 17 the flight crew, assigned at Dallas for the entire trip, consisted of Captain Allen R. Tobin. First Officer Orbin W. Hanks, and Hostess Mary E. Teel. Captain Tobin and First Officer Hanks arrived at the airport more than an hour before the scheduled departure. During this time preflight preparations were made in a normal and routine manner. The pilots were briefed and furnished the latest weather forecasts and reports over the route and for the scheduled stops. No weather conditions of consequence were indicated except that fog was forecast for the Chicago area, and the visibility was expected to be restricted to possibly one-half mile, on arrival. Flight 560 departed Dallas on schedule at 0100. The flight segments between Dallas and Wichita were uneventful; however, while starting the No. 1 (left) engine at Wichita prior to departure a small carburetor intake manifold fire occurred which was immediately extinguished. There was no damage incurred and the engine started easily on the second attempt. The flight proceeded to Kansas City where it landed at 0416. As the aircraft taxied to the terminal several persons noted that the No. 1 propeller was feathered and stopped. Captain Tobin told Braniff personnel that it feathered while being returned to positive pitch after reverse thrust had been used during the landing roll deceleration. The captain unfeathered the propeller before deplaning and maintenance personnel checked it for malfunction; none was indicated. No other mechanical service was requested or performed. The aircraft was serviced to 1,000 gallons of fuel while Captain Tobin and First Officer Hanks received supplemental weather information and completed other preparations for the last segment of the route to Chicago. Flight 560 departed Kansas City at 0435 in accordance with a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight plan. The aircraft, according to company records, was loaded to a gross weight of 45,622 pounds. This amount was less than the maximum allowable of 47,000 pounds and the load was properly distributed with respect to the center of gravity limitations. The flight climbed to 15,000 feet m. s. l. (mean sea level. At 0519 it requested and received an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight plan for the remainder of the trip; accordingly, routine en route reports were made. This segment, as well as the previous, was described as very pleasant, smooth, and conducted primarily above or clear of the clouds. At 0547 ARTC cleared the flight as follows: “ATC clears Braniff 560 to the Naperville Omni via Peoria, Victor 116 over Joliet, maintain at least l,000 on top, tops reported 2,000 m. s. l., contact Chicago Center on 118.9 mc. passing Peoria.” This clearance was acknowledged and the flight reported accordingly. At 0556 Chicago ARTC broadcast a Chicago special weather observation which was: “Thin obscuration, visibility one-half mile.” At approximately 0609 the flight was asked by ARTC if it could land with one-half mile visibility and 1,000 feet thin obscuration. Braniff 560 replied that it could. At 0611 the flight reported over Joliet, 1,000 on top, whereupon ARTC advised it to contact the Chicago Midway Approach Control. Immediate contact was made and the flight was given the same weather and the latest altimeter information. The crew reported at 0618 over Naperville and was radar vectored by Approach Control to the outer marker for an ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach to runway 13R for landing. At 0624 the aircraft hit the sign and crashed through the airport boundary fence onto the airport. Another flight, holding off the runway before takeoff saw the wreckage stop and immediately notified the tower; crash emergency procedures were promptly initiated. The weather conditions reported at the time of the accident were: Partial obscuration; visibility one-half mile, fog, and smoke; sea level pressure 1014.2; temperature 71, dewpoint 68; wind south 6; altimeter 29.94; remarks, fog 8.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Probable cause: The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was that the flight while endeavouring to traverse a thunderstorm area encountered very heavy rain, divergent winds, and strong downdrafts that forced the aircraft to the ground. The following findings were reported: - The flight was observed to enter and disappear in a thunderstorm, - The aircraft crashed in an area where severe storm ground damage occurred, - The US Weather Bureau Kansas City received the USAF severe weather advisories but considered their forecast in effect at the time to be adequate, - The weather forecast issued by the Weather Bureau and Braniff did not indicate the severity of the storm that was encountered.

Douglas C-54 Skymaster

Braniff Airways' Flight 65 departed Denver, Colorado, at 1535 on March 26, 1952, for Dallas, Texas, with intermediate stops scheduled at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The crew consisted of Captain J. W. Stanford, First Officer J. P. Beakley, and Hostesses Dorothy Currey and Betty Murphy. The flight arrived at Colorado Springs after a routine trip and departed there at 1620. On departure it was cleared IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) direct to LaJunta, Colorado, and then by Red Airway 35 to Garden City, Kansas, and Red Airway 59 to Oklahoma City; to cruise at 8,000 feet to LaJunta, and to descend and maintain 7,000 feet from LaJunta to Oklahoma City. According to company records, the gross weight of the aircraft was within approved limits and the load was properly distributed. At 1653 the flight reported over LaJunta at 8,000 feet, descending to 7,000. Four minutes later, at 1657, the flight canceled its IFR flight plan and advised that it was proceeding VFR (Visual Flight Rules) direct to Oklahoma City via Liberal, Kansas. When in the vicinity of Hugoton, Kansas, at approximately 6,000 feet MSL, (3000 feet above the ground), one of the hostesses advised the crew that the right wing was on fire. This was the first indication the crew had that anything was wrong, as the fire-warning signal devices had not functioned and all engines appeared to be operating in a normal manner. The captain immediately looked through the small window in the forward cargo loading door on the right and saw a brilliant red reflection on the inboard surface of the No. 4 engine nacelle. Because of the brilliance of the reflection and the fact that it covered the entire visible portion of this nacelle, he believed the fire was of considerable proportion. He immediately asked the copilot where the fire was and was advised that he thought it was No. 3. The captain then decided to land as quickly as possible on a small airport near Hugoton which he had seen only a few seconds before the hostess came to the cockpit. Accordingly, the hostess was told to advise the passengers that an emergency landing was to be made, and the "Fasten seat belt" and "No smoking" signs were turned on. The captain then disengaged the autopilot, closed the throttle of the No. 3 engine, put the mixture control at idle cutoff, closed the fuel selector valve, and set the propeller control at the full high pitch position. Following this, he dived the aircraft in an attempt to extinguish the fire and to lose altitude. At this time the copilot asked the captain if he wanted the No. 3 engine's propeller feathered, and the captain said, "No." When an air speed of approximately 230 miles per hour was reached, power was reduced on the remaining three engines. During the dive the aircraft was heading in a southeasterly direction, and after a short time the dive was decreased and a steep left turn was made to a westerly heading. When the air speed decreased to approximately 200 miles per hour, the captain pulled the No. 3 fire extinguisher selector valve control handle (this also operates the fire wall shutoff valves), and then pulled the discharge handle of the left CO 2 bottle. When this bottle was discharged, the reflection on the No. 4 engine nacelle was observed to diminish appreciably. The captain said that at this time he thought he asked the copilot to discharge the right CO 2 bottle; however, this bottle was not discharged. The landing gear was lowered, and power was resumed on the three remaining engines. About this time the fire warning light in the cockpit came on, and the bell rang. These warning signals continued to operate intermittently. As soon as the gear was down, the descent was steepened and a series of steep slipping "S" turns were made toward the north while approaching the airport. At an altitude of approximately 200 to 300 feet above the ground, a pronounced buffeting (similar to that which accompanies a near stalling attitude) was experienced. This buffeting was so pronounced it was difficult to control the aircraft; however, it soon stopped and normal control was again resumed. When the buffeting occurred, the indicated air speed was approximately 150 mph. It is believed that the No. 3 engine fell from the aircraft at this time. The captain next called for full flaps. Although the copilot immediately executed this command, no apparent effect of the flaps being lowered was noticed by the crew, and a few seconds later, the aircraft touched down in the middle of the airport. The captain applied brake pressure immediately, but the aircraft did not decelerate. Approaching the north boundary of the field, the captain tried to turn left to avoid crossing a road which was adjacent to the airport, but the nose steering wheel was inoperative. Left rudder was immediately applied; however, the aircraft responded so quickly to this action that right rudder had to be applied at once to keep the aircraft from ground looping. After the aircraft was gain rolling straight, the captain pulled back on the wheel, causing the nose wheel to life from the ground, and the aircraft rolled beyond the airport boundary across a highway, through two fences and a ditch, and came to rest in a wheat field. All of the occupants were evacuated in an orderly manner, some through the forward compartment and main cabin doors by using descent ropes and a few by means of an emergency exit located on the left side of the aircraft.