 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (January 2017) Click for important translation instructions.
|
 N290 the Douglas DC-7 involved, photographed at Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport in September 1959 | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 3, 1963 |
| Summary | Unknown |
| Site | Clarence Strait, WSW of Annette Island, Alaska 54°12′50″N 133°51′25″W / 54.2138°N 133.857°W / 54.2138; -133.857 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-7C |
| Operator | Northwest Orient Airlines |
| Registration | N290 |
| Flight origin | McChord Air Force Base, Washington, United States |
| Destination | Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, United States |
| Occupants | 101 |
| Passengers | 95 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 101 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 was an American military charter operated on June 3, 1963, by a Northwest Orient Airlines Douglas DC-7C registered N290 which crashed into the sea off the coast of Alaska. All 101 crew and passengers on board were killed. It was the airline's deadliest disaster until the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 24 years later.
Accident
Flight 293 was chartered by the Military Air Transport Service of the United States Air Force to carry 95 servicemen and their families from McChord Air Force Base in Washington state to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. The DC-7 departed McChord at 07:52 Pacific Standard Time. The last radio contact with the plane was at 10:06, when the crew requested a change of flight level. When nothing more had been heard for more than an hour, a search for the aircraft was begun at 11:16. It was not until 19:22 that floating debris was seen 182.5 miles (293.7 km) WSW of Annette Island, Alaska.
Approximately 1,500 pounds of wreckage was recovered, including life vests still encased in their plastic containers and extremely deformed seat frames. None of the bodies of the crew or passengers were ever recovered.
Investigation
With the wreckage under 8,000 feet of water, the Accident Review Board concluded that "because of a lack of evidence, the Board is unable to determine the probable cause of the accident."
References
Notes
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit – Irene Cox v Northwest Airlines, Inc". openjurist.org. 1967. p. 893. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- Aircraft Accident Report – Civil Aeronautics Board
- "Cause Unknown: What brought down these five airplanes?", by Lester A. Reingold, Air & Space magazine (September 2010)
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1963 (1963) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 13 Elephant Mountain B-52 crashFeb 1 Ankara mid-air collisionFeb 12 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705Mar 2 Philippine Air Lines Flight 984Mar 5 Aeroflot Flight 191Mar 5 Camden PA-24 crashApr 4 Aeroflot Flight 25May 3 Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul Flight 144Jun 3 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293Jul 2 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112Jul 3 NZ National Airways Flight 441Jul 13 Aeroflot Flight 012Jul 27 United Arab Airlines Flight 869Aug 12 Air Inter Flight 2611Aug 21 Aeroflot Flight 366Aug 24 Aeroflot Flight 663Sep 4 Swissair Flight 306Oct 22 BAC One-Eleven test crashNov 8 Aero Flight 217Nov 22 Poonch IAF helicopter crashNov 29 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831Dec 8 Pan Am Flight 214 | |
| 1962 ◄ ► 1964 |
 | This article about an aviation accident is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |