Last updated: 5 June 2020
| Status: | Final |
| Date: | Tuesday 29 January 1963 |
| Time: | 22:44 |
| Type: |  Vickers 812 Viscount |
| Operator: | Continental Air Lines |
| Registration: | N242V |
| C/n / msn: | 356 |
| First flight: | 1958 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 12860 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, MO (MKC) ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Midland Air Terminal, TX (MAF/KMAF), United States of America |
| Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, MO (MKC/KMKC), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | 290 |
The Viscount aircraft made a straight-in approach to runway 18 but continued in flight at low altitude over the runway. Near the south end of the runway, at a height of about 90 feet, the plane was observed to pitch down sharply in a wings-level attitude and strike the ground.
Weather conditions at the airport were above VFR minima, but during the let-down from cruising altitude and during the landing approach, the flight encountered conditions which were conducive to the formation of rime ice deposits.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "An undetected accretion of ice on the horizontal stabilizer which, in conjunction with a specific airspeed and aircraft configuration, caused a loss of pitch control."
Classification:
IcingLoss of control
Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest No.15 - Volume II, Circular 78-AN/66 (34-46)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 Midland Air Terminal, TX to Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, MO as the crow flies is 1047 km (654 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Midland Air Terminal, TX to Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, MO as the crow flies is 1047 km (654 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
