A Wien Consolidated Airlines, Inc., Fairchild F-27B, N4905, crashed at Pedro Bay, Alaska, at approximately 0936 Alaskan standard time, December 2, 1968. The 36 passengers and three crewmembers died in the accident and the aircraft was destroyed. Investigation showed that the right outer wing, the empennage, portions of the left wing, and other components of the aircraft structure had separated from the aircraft in flight. The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an in-flight structural failure caused by an encounter with severe-to-extreme turbulence. This turbulence was not forecast and its presence was not known to the flightcrew. The failure occurred in an area of the right wing (WS 197) which had been weakened to an indeterminate degree by pre-existing fatigue cracks. (Author)
Aircraft Accident Report. Wien Consolidated Airlines, Inc., Fairchild F-27B, N4905 Pedro Bay, Alaska, December 2, 1968
1970
60 pages
Report
No indication
English