Status:	Final
Date:	18 JAN 1960
Time:	22:19 EST
Type:	Vickers 745D Viscount
Operator:	Capital Airlines
Registration:	N7462
C/n / msn:	217
First flight:	1957
Total airframe hrs:	9247
Engines:	4 Rolls Royce 510 Dart
Crew:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:	Fatalities: 46 / Occupants: 46
Total:	Fatalities: 50 / Occupants: 50
Airplane damage:	Destroyed
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	11 km (6.9 mls) ENE of Charles City, VA (United States of America)
Phase:	En route (ENR)
Nature:	Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:	Washington-National Airport, DC (DCA/KDCA), United States of America
Destination airport:	Norfolk Municipal Airport, VA (ORF/KORF), United States of America
Flightnumber:	20

Narrative:
En route from Washington to Norfolk at an altitude of 8000 feet in icing conditions, two engines failed. While descending to a lower altitude, the remaining two engines also failed and the propellers autofeathered. The crew tried to restart the engines and put the aircraft into a dive trying to drive the propellers out of the feathered position as they were not able to unfeather them normally. Eventually they managed to restart engine no. 4. Applying full power to this engine caused the Viscount to enter a circling descent until it crashed into trees with almost no forward velocity.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was attributed to the delayed arming of the engine ice protection systems while flying in icy conditions, resulting in the loss of engine power and attendant electrical energy required to unfeather propellers and relight sufficient engines to maintain flight."

Events:

Sources:
» ICAO Circular 64-AN/58 (100-107)
Sample newspaper article from Newspaperarchive.com