Narrative:
Pan American's Flight 151 departed Johannesburg for New York. At 08:12, June 21, after a routine flight and scheduled stop at Leopoldville "Clipper Great Republic" arrived at Accra at 21:25. Following a mechanical delay which required the changing of several spark plugs and a set of magneto points, the flight was dispatched and cleared to Monrovia, on an instrument flight plan at 16,500 feet with Dakar. Takeoff from Accra was at 23:52Z and the flight climbed to en route altitude. At 02:20 Flight 151 requested clearance to descend. Roberts Field radio cleared the flight to descend to 3,000 feet. Five minutes later the flight was cleared by the tower controller to descend IFR over Roberts Range Station, and indicated that runway 05 was in use. At 02:37 Flight 151 was again given local weather for Roberts Field: cloud base estimated 1,000 feet, broken, light drizzle and haze, visibility 3 miles. At 02:55, nine minutes after its ETA, Flight 151 was heard calling Roberts Field. The tower responded but there was no indication that the aircraft heard the tower. Six minutes later contact was established on another frequency. The flight reported that the Dakar radio beacon was interfering with the Roberts Field radio beacon and that they would "be back in 15 minutes". At 03:15 the crew were given another weather report; this was the last radio contact with the flight. In an area where cloud bases were probably down to near the hilltops, the flight descended into a hill at 1050 feet msl and crashed.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the action of the captain in descending below his en route minimum altitude without positive identification of the flight's position."
» ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No.2, Circular 24-AN/21 (107-110)
accident date: 22-06-1951
type: Lockheed L-049 Constellation
registration: N88846
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Friday 22 June 1951 |
| Time: | 03:25 UTC |
| Type: |  Lockheed L-049 Constellation |
| Operator: | Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) |
| Registration: | N88846 |
| MSN: | 2046 |
| First flight: | |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13343 |
| Engines: | 4 Wright R-3350 (745C18BA3) Cyclone |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 31 / Occupants: 31 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 40 / Occupants: 40 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | 4 km (2.5 mls) W of Sanoyea ( Liberia)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Accra-Kotoka Airport (ACC/DGAA), Ghana |
| Monrovia-Roberts International Airport (ROB/GLRB), Liberia |
Pan American's Flight 151 departed Johannesburg for New York. At 08:12, June 21, after a routine flight and scheduled stop at Leopoldville "Clipper Great Republic" arrived at Accra at 21:25. Following a mechanical delay which required the changing of several spark plugs and a set of magneto points, the flight was dispatched and cleared to Monrovia, on an instrument flight plan at 16,500 feet with Dakar. Takeoff from Accra was at 23:52Z and the flight climbed to en route altitude. At 02:20 Flight 151 requested clearance to descend. Roberts Field radio cleared the flight to descend to 3,000 feet. Five minutes later the flight was cleared by the tower controller to descend IFR over Roberts Range Station, and indicated that runway 05 was in use. At 02:37 Flight 151 was again given local weather for Roberts Field: cloud base estimated 1,000 feet, broken, light drizzle and haze, visibility 3 miles. At 02:55, nine minutes after its ETA, Flight 151 was heard calling Roberts Field. The tower responded but there was no indication that the aircraft heard the tower. Six minutes later contact was established on another frequency. The flight reported that the Dakar radio beacon was interfering with the Roberts Field radio beacon and that they would "be back in 15 minutes". At 03:15 the crew were given another weather report; this was the last radio contact with the flight. In an area where cloud bases were probably down to near the hilltops, the flight descended into a hill at 1050 feet msl and crashed.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the action of the captain in descending below his en route minimum altitude without positive identification of the flight's position."
Accident investigation:
|
Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» CAB File No. 1-0053» ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No.2, Circular 24-AN/21 (107-110)
Photos
accident date: 22-06-1951
type: Lockheed L-049 Constellation
registration: N88846
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Accra-Kotoka Airport to Monrovia-Roberts International Airport as the crow flies is 1124 km (703 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Accra-Kotoka Airport to Monrovia-Roberts International Airport as the crow flies is 1124 km (703 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
languages: 
Liberia
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Lockheed L-049
- 88 built
- 15th loss
- 9th fatal accident
- 2nd worst accident (at the time)
- 7th worst accident (currently)
Liberia- The worst accident (at the time)
- 2nd worst accident (currently)
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