Date: | Sunday 18 November 1979 |
Time: | 04:56 |
Type: | Lockheed L-188CF Electra |
Owner/operator: | Transamerica Airlines |
Registration: | N859U |
MSN: | 2016 |
Year of manufacture: | 1960 |
Total airframe hrs: | 41764 hours |
Engine model: | Allison 501-D13 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Salt Lake City, UT -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Cargo |
Departure airport: | Ogden-Hill AFB, UT (HIF/KHIF) |
Destination airport: | Las Vegas-Nellis AFB, NV (LSV/KLSV) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:Flight 3N18 departed Hill AFB for an IFR cargo flight to Nellis AFB. While climbing from FL120 to FL130 the crew reported loss of electrical power and requested no-gyro vectors to visual flight conditions and immediate descent clearance. During the descent the aircraft attained a high airspeed and high rate of descent and disintegrated in flight.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "A progressive failure in the aircraft's electrical system leading to the disabling or erratic performance of some critical flight instruments and flight instrument lighting while the flight was operating in night instrument meteorological condition. As a result of these conditions, the flight crew could not resolve the instrumentation anomalies to determine proper aircraft attitude reference, and became disoriented and lost control of the aircraft. The crew's efforts to regain control of the aircraft imposed aerodynamic loads which exceeded design limits of the aircraft and caused it to break up in flight."
Accident investigation:
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| |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Report number: | DCA80AA007 |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | |
Download report: | Final report |
|
Sources:
NTSB-AAR-80-11
Location
Images:
photo (c) NTSB; Salt Lake City, UT; 18 November 1979
photo (c) Bob Garrard; Wilmington-Airborne Airpark, OH (ILN/KILN); November 1977
photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK); December 1973
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |