ASN Aircraft accident Boeing E-3A Sentry (707-300B) 77-0354 Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK (EDF)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 22 September 1995
Time:07:47
Type:Silhouette image of generic E3TF model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing E-3A Sentry (707-300B)
Operator:United States Air Force - USAF
Registration: 77-0354
MSN: 21554/933
First flight: 1978
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D (TF33-100A)
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20
Total:Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 24
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:ca 2 km NE of Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK (EDF) (   United States of America)
Crash site elevation: 65 m (213 feet) amsl
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK (EDF/PAED), United States of America
Destination airport:Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK (EDF/PAED), United States of America
Flightnumber: 27
Narrative:
Boeing E-3B Sentry 77-0354 was military Boeing 707-derivative, a.o. equipped and AWACS system. The aircraft, operated by the US Air Force 962nd Airborne Air Control Sqn, 3rd Wing, was assigned call-sign Yukla 27 for a 6.2 hr training mission. At 07:43 Yukla 27 was holding short of runway 05, waiting for takeoff, when a Lockheed Hercules departed. This aircraft disturbed a flock of Canada geese. The Yukla 27 crew were not warned about this by the tower controller. At 07:45 they were cleared for takeoff and the throttles were advanced. As the plane rotated for lift-off numerous geese were ingested in the no. 1 and 2 engines resulting in a catastrophic no. 2 engine failure and a stalling no. 1 engine. The crew initiated a slow climbing turn to the left and began to dump fuel. The aircraft attained a maximum altitude of 250 feet before it started to descend. The plane impacted a hilly, wooded area less than a mile from the runway, broke up, exploded and burned.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: Ingestion of Canada geese into the no. 1 and 2 engines. Two contributing factors were the fact that the 3rd Wing lacked an aggressive program to detect and deter geese; the preparations for the migration season of the bird hazard reduction working group (BHRWG) were insufficient. An earlier safety agency staff assistance visit (SAV) had misled the 3rd Wing to believe that they were prepared. The second contributing factor was the tower controllers failure to notify Yukla 27 or airfield management that geese were present on the infield.

Sources:
» Aviation Week & Space Technology 15.1.96(19)
» NTSB Safety Recommendations A-96-38 through -42
» Military Boeing 707 Strikes Birds After Liftoff; Damage to Engines No. 1 and No. 2 Results in Loss of Power and Impact with Terrain (Flight Safety Foundation - Accident Prevention November 1996)


Photos

photo of Boeing-E-3A-Sentry-77-0354
accident date: 22-09-1995
type: Boeing E-3A Sentry (707-300B)
registration: 77-0354
photo of Boeing-E-3A-77-0354
77-0354
 

Map

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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