Capital Airlines Flight 67

Capital Airlines Flight 67 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by Capital Airlines which crashed on final approach to Freeland, Michigan, USA, during a severe snowstorm on April 6, 1958. The flight was en route from Flint-Bishop Airport to the Freeland-Tri City Airport (now MBS International Airport) when it crashed.[1] Flight 67 was the first of four fatal crashes in the space of two years involving Capital Airlines Vickers Viscounts;[2] the others were Capital Airlines Flight 300 (May 1958),[3] Capital Airlines Flight 75 (May 1959), and Capital Airlines Flight 20 (January 1960).

Capital Airlines Flight 67
A Capital Airlines Vickers Viscount similar to the one which crashed.
Accident
DateApril 6, 1958
SummaryStall, loss of control
SiteSaginaw Bay near Freeland, Michigan
43°31′14.05″N 84°5′54.91″W
Aircraft typeVickers Viscount
OperatorCapital Airlines
RegistrationN7437
Flight originFlint-Bishop Airport
DestinationFreeland-Tri City Airport
Passengers44
Crew3
Fatalities47
Survivors0

Approach conditions towards Freeland were poor due to the weather; there was restricted visibility, and conditions were ripe for icing. The plane's crew apparently attempted a steep turn to align the craft with the runway. This caused the plane to stall, which was followed by a spin.[4] The crew could not regain control, leading to the crash.

The official cause of the crash was listed as an undetected buildup of ice on the horizontal stabilizer which, coupled with airspeed and the design of the aircraft, caused it to lose control.[4] Furthermore, the aircraft's stall warning device was inoperative.[1][5]

A memorial to the victims was unveiled in a local cemetery in 2001.[6]

References
  1. "Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Report, Docket no. SA-331, File no. 1-0031" (PDF). (text version Archived August 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine also available)
    (if links above fail to load report, visit http://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net and select "Historical Aircraft Accident Reports (1934-1965)", then retry report links)
  2. Capital Airlines accidents and incidents
  3. Accident description for Capital Airlines Flight 300 at the Aviation Safety Network
  4. Accident description for Capital Airlines Flight 67 at the Aviation Safety Network
  5. Winger, Doug (March 24, 2008). "47 perish: Easter Sunday plane crash at Tri-City Airport remembered 50 years later". Midland Daily News. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
  6. Henson, Stacey (April 6, 2008). "Crash of Capital Airlines Flight 67 lingers like contrails in the mind of an Essexville, Michigan, author and plane enthusiast". Saginaw news archives, mlive.com.
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