Pan Am Flight 214: Difference between revisions

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	==Flight history==		==Flight history==
	On ], ], ] Flight 214, a ] four-engine ] named ''Clipper Tradewind'' by Pan Am,<ref>] flights were called 'Clipper' by ]</ref> took off from ] in ] at 4:10 p.m. EST, for a flight to ] with 73 passengers and 8 crew on board. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship International Airport (now called ], or BWI) for refueling. At 8:24 p.m. EST, Flight 214 departed. Due to high winds in the Philadelphia area, the crew chose to wait in a holding pattern with five other airplanes rather than attempt to land in Philadelphia.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident\|id=19631208-0}}. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.</ref>		On ], ], ] Flight 214, a ] four-engine ] named ''Clipper Tradewind'' by Pan Am,<ref>] flights were called 'Clipper' by ]</ref> took off from ] in ] at 4:10 p.m. EST, for a flight to ] with 73 passengers and 8 crew on board. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship International Airport (now called ], or BWI) for refueling. At 8:24 p.m. EST, Flight 214 departed. Due to high winds in the Philadelphia area, the crew chose to wait in a ] with five other airplanes rather than attempt to land in Philadelphia.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident\|id=19631208-0}}. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.</ref>

	At 8:58 p.m. EST, while in the holding pattern, the aircraft was hit by ], which ignited fuel vapors in the number one (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion. The crew of Flight 214 managed to transmit a final message – "Mayday Mayday Mayday. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." – before it crashed near ]. All 81 people on board were killed.<ref name=aeronauticsboard> {{cite web \| title=Civil Aeronautics Board report \| url=http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOJG/081263.htm \| accessdate=2006-06-12}} </ref>		At 8:58 p.m. EST, while in the holding pattern, the aircraft was hit by ], which ignited fuel vapors in the number one (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion. The crew of Flight 214 managed to transmit a final message – "Mayday Mayday Mayday. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." – before it crashed near ]. All 81 people on board were killed.<ref name=aeronauticsboard> {{cite web \| title=Civil Aeronautics Board report \| url=http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOJG/081263.htm \| accessdate=2006-06-12}} </ref>

Revision as of 15:21, 2 August 2009

Pan Am Flight 214
Accident
Date	December 8, 1963
Summary	Lightning strike
Site	Elkton, Maryland
Aircraft type	Boeing 707-121
Aircraft name	Clipper Tradewind
Operator	Pan Am
Registration	N709PAdisaster
Flight origin	Luis Munoz Marin International Airport
Stopover	Baltimore/Washington International Airport
Destination	Philadelphia International Airport
Passengers	73
Crew	8
Fatalities	81
Injuries	0
Survivors	0

Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707-121 registered as N709PAdisaster, was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore to Philadelphia, which crashed on December 8, 1963 near Elkton, Maryland, after being hit by a lightning strike while in a holding pattern, killing all 81 persons on board.

Flight history

On December 8, 1963, Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707-121 four-engine turbojet named Clipper Tradewind by Pan Am, took off from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 4:10 p.m. EST, for a flight to Philadelphia with 73 passengers and 8 crew on board. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship International Airport (now called Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, or BWI) for refueling. At 8:24 p.m. EST, Flight 214 departed. Due to high winds in the Philadelphia area, the crew chose to wait in a holding pattern with five other airplanes rather than attempt to land in Philadelphia.

At 8:58 p.m. EST, while in the holding pattern, the aircraft was hit by lightning, which ignited fuel vapors in the number one (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion. The crew of Flight 214 managed to transmit a final message – "Mayday Mayday Mayday. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." – before it crashed near Elkton, Maryland. All 81 people on board were killed.

Investigation

Diagram showing Flight 214 fuel tank layout

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigated the accident, and issued the following Probable Cause statement on March 3, 1965:

Probable Cause: Lightning-induced ignition of the fuel/air mixture in the no. 1 reserve fuel tank with resultant explosive disintegration of the left outer wing and loss of control.

FAA reaction

As a result of the crash of Flight 214, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered lightning discharge wicks to be installed on all commercial jets flying inside U.S. airspace.

Volatile fuel vapor recommendation

On December 17, 1963, nine days after the crash of Flight 214, Leon H. Tanguay, director of the CAB Bureau of Safety, sent a letter to the FAA recommending several safety modifications as part of future aircraft design. One modification related specifically to volatile fuel vapors that can form inside of partly empty fuel tanks, which may be ignited by various potential ignition sources and cause an explosion. Mr. Tanguay's letter suggested reducing the volatility of the fuel/air gas mixture by introducing an inert gas, or by using air circulation. Thirty three years later, a similar recommendation was issued by the NTSB (the CAB's successor) after the TWA Flight 800 Boeing 747 crash on July 17, 1996, with 230 fatalities, which was also determined to have been caused by the explosion of a volatile mixture inside a fuel tank.

Guinness world record

The crash of Pan Am Flight 214 was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records (2005) as the "Worst Lightning Strike Death Toll". In 1971, LANSA Flight 508 was also brought down by a lightning strike, but has no mention in the Guinness Book of World Records, despite having more casualties (91 fatalities).

Notes

"FAA Registry (N709PA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
"FAA Registry (N709PA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
^ "Pan Am Flight 214 CAB report (PDF) (Historical Aircraft Accident, 1963, Pan Am)" (PDF).
Pan Am flights were called 'Clipper' by Air Traffic Control
^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
"Civil Aeronautics Board report". Retrieved 2006-06-12.
"Plane Crash Info Entry". Retrieved 2007-01-17.
The full TWA 800 NTSB report was issued in 2000, but a safety recommendation regarding fuel vapor inerting was sent to the FAA on December 13, 1996, according to the NTSB report.
TWA 800 NTSB AAR-00/03 Final Report, adopted August 23, 2000
archive.org copy of Guinness Book of World Records entry for Pan Am Flight 214

External links

Civil Aeronautics Board reports – digitized versions

39°36′28″N 75°47′20″W / 39.60778°N 75.78889°W / 39.60778; -75.78889

Categories:

Revision as of 05:55, 29 July 2009 editAlexbot (talk \| contribs)196,144 editsm robot Adding: zh:泛美航空214号班机空难 ← Previous edit		Revision as of 15:21, 2 August 2009 edit undoBeno1000 (talk \| contribs)Pending changes reviewers3,659 editsm →Flight history Next edit →
Line 23:		Line 23:

	==Flight history==		==Flight history==
	On ], ], ] Flight 214, a ] four-engine ] named ''Clipper Tradewind'' by Pan Am,<ref>] flights were called 'Clipper' by ]</ref> took off from ] in ] at 4:10 p.m. EST, for a flight to ] with 73 passengers and 8 crew on board. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship International Airport (now called ], or BWI) for refueling. At 8:24 p.m. EST, Flight 214 departed. Due to high winds in the Philadelphia area, the crew chose to wait in a holding pattern with five other airplanes rather than attempt to land in Philadelphia.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident\|id=19631208-0}}. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.</ref>		On ], ], ] Flight 214, a ] four-engine ] named ''Clipper Tradewind'' by Pan Am,<ref>] flights were called 'Clipper' by ]</ref> took off from ] in ] at 4:10 p.m. EST, for a flight to ] with 73 passengers and 8 crew on board. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship International Airport (now called ], or BWI) for refueling. At 8:24 p.m. EST, Flight 214 departed. Due to high winds in the Philadelphia area, the crew chose to wait in a ] with five other airplanes rather than attempt to land in Philadelphia.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident\|id=19631208-0}}. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.</ref>

	At 8:58 p.m. EST, while in the holding pattern, the aircraft was hit by ], which ignited fuel vapors in the number one (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion. The crew of Flight 214 managed to transmit a final message – "Mayday Mayday Mayday. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." – before it crashed near ]. All 81 people on board were killed.<ref name=aeronauticsboard> {{cite web \| title=Civil Aeronautics Board report \| url=http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOJG/081263.htm \| accessdate=2006-06-12}} </ref>		At 8:58 p.m. EST, while in the holding pattern, the aircraft was hit by ], which ignited fuel vapors in the number one (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion. The crew of Flight 214 managed to transmit a final message – "Mayday Mayday Mayday. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." – before it crashed near ]. All 81 people on board were killed.<ref name=aeronauticsboard> {{cite web \| title=Civil Aeronautics Board report \| url=http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOJG/081263.htm \| accessdate=2006-06-12}} </ref>

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