TWA Flight 6963
TWA Flight 6963, a scheduled Transcontinental & Western Air flight from Paris Orly Airport to New York City with scheduled stops at Shannon Airport and Gander, crashed on 28 December 1946 about 1.5 kilometres (0.81 nmi) west-northwest of Shannon Airport on the island of Inishmacnaughton.[1]
_JP7293287.jpg.webp){kind=spacer} N86502, sister-ship to the accident aircraft in a later livery. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 28, 1946 |
| Summary | CFIT due to an inaccurate altimeter caused by maintenance errors |
| Site | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) west-northwest of Shannon Airport 52°42′39.0″N 8°57′22.0″W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-049 Constellation |
| Aircraft name | Cairo Skychief |
| Operator | Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) |
| Registration | NC86505 |
| Flight origin | Orly Airport, France |
| 1st stopover | Shannon Airport, Ireland |
| Last stopover | Gander Airport, Newfoundland |
| Destination | LaGuardia Airport, New York City |
| Occupants | 23 |
| Passengers | 14 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Survivors | 14 |
The flight
The flight was being operated by Lockheed L-049 Constellation NC86505, c/n 2026, named Cairo Skychief. On approach to Shannon airport the aircraft struck the ground on Inishmacnaughton and was destroyed by fire, having broken up on impact.[1] Of the 23 people on board, nine died; four crew members and five passengers,[2] however, a 1947 amendment to the CAB report states that nine passengers died.[3]
This TWA flight was authorised to carry persons, property and mail between the cities of the route.[3] It was reported in The Times that this was a mail carrying flight and that the mails were retrieved but, as of 1997, no covers have been noted.[1]
The accident
Cairo Skychief departed Paris-Orly at 23:16 arriving at Shannon at 02:00 when Shannon control tower cleared the aircraft for approach to runway 14. At 02:06 the crew reported being over the range station at 1,200 ft (370 m). Shannon Tower advised the crew that Shannon was reporting 10/10 cloud cover at 400 ft (120 m), 4/10 at 250 ft (76 m), visibility 1 mi (1.6 km), wind 120 degrees, 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). During the left turn onto final, the aircraft passed behind a low hill blocking the airport lights from the pilot's vision, the aircraft lost altitude and the port wing-tip struck the ground; the aircraft crashed and caught fire.[2]
Captain Herbert W. Tansey and First Officer Clifford V. Sparrow were seriously injured, but were among the survivors.[3][4] The Irish Department of Industry and Commerce, the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Administration, and the TWA Regional Accident Board started an investigation into the crash.[4] Investigators arrived in Shannon on 31 December for the local phase and later phases took place in London, New York, and Wilmington, with a public hearing on 30 and 31 January 1947, in New York City.[3]
Causes
Contributory causes were determined to have been the incorrect assembly of the instruments static pipelines and the poor weather conditions.[2]
References
- Vogt, Ronny (1997). Irish Crash Airmails. Bray: Irish Airmail Society. p. 55.
- "Accident record". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- Civil Aeronautics Board (21 April 1947). "Transcontinental & Western Air-Shannon, Eire, December 28, 1946". Accident Investigation Report. Civil Aeronautics Board. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- "The Shannon Crash". Flight: 33. 9 January 1947. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
Further reading
- O'Toole, Michael (1 June 2006). Cleared for Disaster: Ireland's Most Horrific Air Crashes. Cork: Mercier Press. ISBN 978-1856355100.