Narrative:
The Super Constellation departed Gander at 17:09 GMT for a military (MATS) charter flight to Frankfurt. Three hours later, at FL210 a fire developed in the no. 3 engine, which was shut down and the propeller feathered. The no. 1 engine oversped 5 minutes later when the flight engineer closed the no. 1 engine firewall shut-off valve in error. The crew were not able to restart the engine, and wanted to divert to Shannon with METO power on the no. 4 engine and reduced power on engine no. 2. The no. 2 engine lost power and finally failed, forcing the crew to carry out a ditching. The left wing broke off, but the fuselage remained intact. The cabin filled with water fast and the aircraft sank nose first in about 10 minutes.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of two of the aircraft's four engines, and improper action of the flight engineer which disabled a third engine thereby necessitating a ditching at sea."
Ditching
» ICAO Accident Digest No.14 Volume I, Circular 71-AN/63 (60-66)
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Sunday 23 September 1962 |
| Time: | 22:00 UTC |
| Type: |  Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation |
| Operator: | Flying Tiger Line |
| Registration: | N6923C |
| MSN: | 4827 |
| First flight: | 1958 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15800 |
| Engines: | 4 Wright R-3350 (988TC18EA6) |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 8 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 68 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 28 / Occupants: 76 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | 800 km (500 mls) W off Shannon, Ireland ( Atlantic Ocean)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Int'l Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Gander Airport, NL (YQX/CYQX), Canada |
| Frankfurt International Airport (FRA/EDDF), Germany | |
| Flightnumber: | 923 |
The Super Constellation departed Gander at 17:09 GMT for a military (MATS) charter flight to Frankfurt. Three hours later, at FL210 a fire developed in the no. 3 engine, which was shut down and the propeller feathered. The no. 1 engine oversped 5 minutes later when the flight engineer closed the no. 1 engine firewall shut-off valve in error. The crew were not able to restart the engine, and wanted to divert to Shannon with METO power on the no. 4 engine and reduced power on engine no. 2. The no. 2 engine lost power and finally failed, forcing the crew to carry out a ditching. The left wing broke off, but the fuselage remained intact. The cabin filled with water fast and the aircraft sank nose first in about 10 minutes.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of two of the aircraft's four engines, and improper action of the flight engineer which disabled a third engine thereby necessitating a ditching at sea."
Accident investigation:
|
Classification:
Engine fireDitching
Sources:
» Ditch or crash-land?/B.W. Townshend, 1965 (36-46)» ICAO Accident Digest No.14 Volume I, Circular 71-AN/63 (60-66)
Photos
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 Gander Airport, NL to Frankfurt International Airport as the crow flies is 4390 km (2744 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Gander Airport, NL to Frankfurt International Airport as the crow flies is 4390 km (2744 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of 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.
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Lockheed L-1049
- 564 built
- 53rd loss
- 31st fatal accident
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Atlantic Ocean- 13th worst accident (at the time)
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