Accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61CF N8960T,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 330160
 

Date:Saturday 23 June 1973
Time:03:58
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC86 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61CF
Owner/operator:Loftleidir
Registration: N8960T
MSN: 45938/331
Year of manufacture:1968
Total airframe hrs:21258 hours
Engine model:Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 128
Aircraft damage: Substantial, repaired
Category:Accident
Location:New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK) -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Keflavík International Airport (KEF/BIKF)
Destination airport:New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Loftleidir Flight 509 originated in Stockholm and was destined for New York with intermediate stops in Oslo and Reykjavik. The flight departed Keflavik Airport at 22:14 EDT. The flight from Keflavik to the outer marker of the ILS for runway 31R at New York-JFK was routine. At 03:56 Flight 509 contacted the tower and was cleared to land on runway 31R; the wind was 200deg at 3 knots. The captain decided to arm the spoilers just before touchdown rather than just after the landing gear had been extended. The latter is called for in the before-landing checklist. Shortly after the call to arm the spoilers, the aircraft struck the runway, tail first, and in a nose-high attitude. Later, the captain stated that he had called for the spoilers to be armed at an altitude between 20 and 30 feet. After impact, all engines were shut down by means of fire shutoff levers; fire extinguishers were discharged.
The first officer stated that because he could not arm the spoilers with his left hand, he had to use both hands. He also stated that he might have pulled back on the activating lever which deployed the spoilers.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The first officer's inadvertent deployment of the ground spoilers in flight while he was attempting to arm the spoiler system. The captain's decision to delay arming of the spoilers until just before touchdown was a contributing factor, because the timing varied from normal procedures and required the crewmembers to act quickly, without time for corrective action."

Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: NTSB-AAR-73-20
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 5 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB-AAR-73-20

Location

Revision history:

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