A Trans World Airlines, Inc., Boeing 707-331B porpoised while descending approximately 35 miles west of Los Angeles, California, at 2150 p.d.t. on August 28, 1973. The flight was bound for the Los Angeles International Airport. The longitudinal instability persisted for about 2 minutes during which more than 50 pitch oscillations occurred. Peak acceleration forces of +2.4g to -0.3g were measured at the aircraft's center of gravity. There were 141 passengers and 11 crewmembers aboard. As a result of the accident, one passenger was injured fatally; one flight attendant and two other passengers were injured seriously. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a combination of design tolerances in the aircraft's longitudinal control system which, under certain conditions, produced a critical relationship between control forces and aircraft response.
Aircraft Accident Report. Trans World Airlines, Inc. Boeing 707-331B, N8705T Los Angeles, California August 28, 1973
1974
60 pages
Report
No indication
English