Narrative:
Weather at Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) was very poor. Boeing RC-135T, call sign Mary 24, approached the airport for some practice MLS approaches. The first two approaches were uneventful. The third approach was commenced some four miles (6,4 km) north of the prescribed MLS inbound course. The crew descended until the airplane flew into the side of a mountain. The wreckage was not located until August 2, 1985.
The crew had used an approach procedure certified for de Havilland Canada DHC-7, a STOL airplane. The glide slope and missed approach for this airplane are significantly steeper than those for an RC-135 jet.
» Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III
| Status: | |
| Date: | Monday 25 February 1985 |
| Type: |  Boeing RC-135T Rivet Dandy |
| Operator: | United States Air Force - USAF |
| Registration: | 55-3121 |
| MSN: | 17237/4 |
| First flight: | 1957-03-07 (28 years) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15072 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | near Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America |
| Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America |
Weather at Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) was very poor. Boeing RC-135T, call sign Mary 24, approached the airport for some practice MLS approaches. The first two approaches were uneventful. The third approach was commenced some four miles (6,4 km) north of the prescribed MLS inbound course. The crew descended until the airplane flew into the side of a mountain. The wreckage was not located until August 2, 1985.
The crew had used an approach procedure certified for de Havilland Canada DHC-7, a STOL airplane. The glide slope and missed approach for this airplane are significantly steeper than those for an RC-135 jet.
Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» ExploreNorth» Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III
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