Alitalia Flight 618 - Misplaced Pages

1960 aviation accident

Alitalia Flight 618
Accident
A SwissAir Douglas DC-7, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident.
Date	26 February 1960 (1960-02-26)
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain; cause believed to be pilot error
Site	Shannon Airport
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-7C
Operator	Alitalia
Registration	I-DUVO
Flight origin	Roma-Ciampino Airport (CIA/LIRA), Italy
Stopover	Shannon Airport (SNN/EINN), Ireland
1st stopover	Gander Airport, NL (YQX/CYQX), Canada
Destination	New York-Idlewild International Airport, NY (IDL/KIDL), United States
Occupants	52
Passengers	40
Crew	12
Fatalities	34
Injuries	18
Survivors	18

Alitalia Flight 618 was an accident involving a Douglas DC-7C of the Italian airline Alitalia in Shannon, Ireland, on 26 February 1960. Of the 52 people on board, only 18 survived with serious injuries.

Accident

On the morning of 26 February 1960, Flight 618 arrived at its first stopover at Shannon Airport for refueling to continue its journey across the Atlantic, while under the supervision of a check pilot. The flight had been permitted to take off from runway 05 with a clear but still dark and partially overcast sky just 45 minutes after its initial arrival. Takeoff proceeded without issue and the crew retracted the gear before making a left turn when the aircraft had climbed to a height of 165 ft (50 m) with the landing lights still on. While turning, the aircraft's power was reduced slightly but the flaps were never fully retracted. Instead of climbing, the airliner only accelerated and lost altitude very quickly. The pilots were unable to prevent the left wing tip from striking a stone wall near the Clonloghan church followed by the left engines and the rest of the wing which also struck several gravestones of the surrounding cemetery. At this point, the aircraft's fate was sealed and after the propellers of the right engine also scraped past the wall, the out-of-control aircraft slammed into the ground in an open field beyond the cemetery and burst into flames.

The post-crash fire quickly engulfed the aircraft and badly burned most of the survivors, as locals and rescue workers arrived at the scene. The fire gutted the wreckage, leaving the tail section as the only recognizable part left of the aircraft. The crash also took its toll on the passengers and crew on board, with only a single crew member surviving the crash alongside 17 passengers, who were all seriously injured.

Aircraft

The Douglas DC-7C involved, I-DUVO (msn 45231) was built in 1958 and was used by Alitalia from 1958 until its destruction in 1960.

Aftermath

The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire with the wreckage being documented on film and by photography. An investigation of the accident revealed the aircraft's speed at impact as between 170 and 180 knots (310 and 330 km/h). Investigators failed to find any evidence pointing to the cause of the crash.

References

Portals:

^ Ranter, Harro (1996). "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
"CRASH OF A DOUGLAS DC-7C IN SHANNON: 34 KILLED". baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
"1960 plane crash commemorated". clarechampion.ie. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
"Irish air disasters: the most significant crashes". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1960 (1960)
Jan 6 National Airlines Flight 2511Jan 18 Capital Airlines Flight 20Jan 19 SAS Flight 871Jan 21 Avianca Flight 671Feb 5 Douglas DC-4 Cochabamba crashFeb 25 Rio de Janeiro mid-air collisionFeb 26 Aeroflot Flight 315Feb 26 Alitalia Flight 618Mar 17 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710May 1 U-2 incidentJun 10 Aeroflot Flight 207Jun 10 Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538Jun 24 Real Transportes Aéreos Flight 435Jul 1 RB-47 incidentJul 14 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1-11Jul 15 Ethiopian Air Lines Flight 372Jul 16 Danish football air crashJul 21 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698Aug 17 Aeroflot Flight 036Aug 29 Air France Flight 343Sep 19 World Airways Flight 830Sep 26 Austrian Airlines Flight 901Oct 4 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375Oct 29 Cal Poly football team plane crashNov 20 F-84 Thunderstreak crashNov 23 Philippine Air Lines Flight S26Dec 16 New York mid-air collisionDec 17 Munich C-131 crashDec 22 Philippine Air Lines Flight S85
1959 ◄ ► 1961

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1960 (1960)

Jan 6 National Airlines Flight 2511Jan 18 Capital Airlines Flight 20Jan 19 SAS Flight 871Jan 21 Avianca Flight 671Feb 5 Douglas DC-4 Cochabamba crashFeb 25 Rio de Janeiro mid-air collisionFeb 26 Aeroflot Flight 315Feb 26 Alitalia Flight 618Mar 17 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710May 1 U-2 incidentJun 10 Aeroflot Flight 207Jun 10 Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538Jun 24 Real Transportes Aéreos Flight 435Jul 1 RB-47 incidentJul 14 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1-11Jul 15 Ethiopian Air Lines Flight 372Jul 16 Danish football air crashJul 21 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698Aug 17 Aeroflot Flight 036Aug 29 Air France Flight 343Sep 19 World Airways Flight 830Sep 26 Austrian Airlines Flight 901Oct 4 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375Oct 29 Cal Poly football team plane crashNov 20 F-84 Thunderstreak crashNov 23 Philippine Air Lines Flight S26Dec 16 New York mid-air collisionDec 17 Munich C-131 crashDec 22 Philippine Air Lines Flight S85

1959 ◄ ► 1961

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Ireland
1940s	TWA Flight 6963 (December 1946) Pan Am Flight 1-10 (April 1948)
1950s	KLM Flight 633 (September 1954) KLM Flight 607-E (August 1958)* Pan Am Clipper Panama (June 1959)
1960s	Alitalia Flight 618 (February 1960) President Airlines Douglas DC-6 (September 1961) Aer Lingus Flight 712 (March 1968)
1970s	British Army Gazelle downing (February 1978)# American Airlines Flight 293 (June 1979)
1980s	Air India Flight 182 (June 1985)* template British Army Lynx shootdown (June 1988)#
1990s	British Army Gazelle shootdown (February 1990)# British Army Lynx shootdown (March 1994)# Irish Marine Emergency Service Rescue 111 (July 1999)
2010s	Manx2 Flight 7100 (February 2011) Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 (March 2017)
Accidents with the pound sign (#) occurred in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, while others occurred in the Republic of Ireland. Accidents with asteriks (*) occurred in the ocean near Ireland

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