In response to the CAB's findings, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered lightning discharge wicks (or static dischargers) to be installed on all commercial jets flying inside US airspace. Just when the county thought it couldnt get any worse, Dec. 8 arrived to deliver the largest aviation disaster in Marylands history, said Mike Dixon, of the Historical Society of Cecil County. These records revealed no history of fuel leaks, lightning strikes, or static discharges. There was considerable ground-fire damage to the right inner wing. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. We heard so many of these stories as family members and first responders came together, talked, and reflected on the passage of 50 years since the disaster. [13], In 1959, the aircraft had been involved in an incident in which the right outboard engine was torn from the wing during a training flight in France. However, due to the inflight fire damage in the left inboard wing trailing edge, the left horizontal tail and the left side of the vertical tail and aft fuselage, the possibility of a fuel leak in the trailing edge of the left inboard wing was explored in connection with initiation of the accident. Flight 214 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Incheon International Airport, Seoul, Korea, operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129. Based on evidence furnished the Board, it is reasonable to conclude that the state of the art was fully exploited within the limits imposed by basic airplane structural and configuration requirements in the design of the fuel system, including the vent outlets. Meherjee Kharas, a 28-year-old Pan Am mechanic on board, was forced to make radio contact with negotiators outside. The crew elected to remain at 5,000 feet (1,500m) in a holding pattern with five other aircraft. It was a moving experience hearing the stories of other family members as they came back to Elkton to meet and share their accounts. JP-4 advocates countered that the fuel was as safe, or safer than, kerosene, the other fuel used in jets at the time. A granite memorial was dedicated at the crash site in 1994. In the days following, he slept at a relatives home on Delancy Road so he could stay close. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321B powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines. 277 likes. He never lost control for an instant. The bearing of this path was 250 degrees from its easterly end toward the impact crater, however, westerly extension of the path centerline passed approximately 2,500 feet south of the crater. Here we go." All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died. The board said, "It is felt that the current state of the art does not permit an extension of test results to unqualified conclusions of all aspects of natural lightning effects. A lightning strike igniting a fuel tank was ruled the cause. The most easterly piece of wreckage found along this path was approximately 17,400 feet from the crater. Hampton Scott, then 24, saw the plane go down from his home on Bow Street. I found this article wanting to learn a little more about this disaster. I was just a small boy at the time and never heard about it previously. The tape showed an elapsed time of approximately 32 minutes and 50 seconds from lift-off at Baltimore until impact with the ground. The resultant fuel load was a mixture of Type A and Type B distributed as follows. The pilot was able to maintain control only a few seconds after that and then the aircraft dove into the ground. Such spillage from the opened outer end of the No. By the same reasoning, in view of the known facts of this accident, there is no logical explanation for ignition of the flammable vapors other than some effect stemming directly from the lightning strike. When his son was born, the last addition to the three Knuth girls, he decided to take shorter trips. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Baltimore's . No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism From left to right, George F. Knuth, pilot of Flight 214, with Carol, wife Betty, Mary, Sara and son Chris in the front. He died of a heart attack at Union Hospital. The flight crew of N709PA was properly certificated and qualified for this flight. Debris, pieces of the plane and oil were scattered through the field, in trees and on cars and houses. The Cecil Whig and Cecil Democrat followed the story of Flight 214, publishing many photos of the recovery and Cecil County first responders. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship . Choose wisely! 3 and 4 main tanks and float valves in the Nos. There was slight sooting or discoloration on the reserve tank side of the spar and slight charring of the sealant at the juncture of the spar and the closure rib. Able to drive his familys gray station wagon, Hicks, then only 13, drove remains from the crash site to the temporary Red Cross station and morgue set up at the armory. Accelerated studies have recently been completed into these hazards to provide technical data on their probably occurrence and control. 1 reserve fuel tank with resultant explosive disintegration of the left outer wing and loss of control. The CAB team was assisted by investigators from the Boeing Company, Pan Am, the Air Line Pilots Association, Pratt & Whitney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). It is the worst plane disaster ever attributed to lightening and subsequent investigations into the crash led to changes in airplane design that have since saved many lives from perishing in similar lightening accidents. This page was last edited on 25 March 2021, at 12:11. Extensive and meticulous effort was expended attempting to find evidence of an electrical discharge that may have ignited the flammable mixture in the left reserve tank with negative results. Sincerely, Ron Heck. When the general alarm went out for all available ambulances, Steward W. Godwin, 56, responded on the North East Volunteer Fire Company unit. [22] Despite the opposition, investigators found multiple lightning strike marks on the left wing tip, and a large area of damage that extended along the rear edge of the wing, leading investigators to conclude that lightning was indeed the cause. In addition, flame can propagate through the vent system, from fuel vapors ignited at the vent outlet by direct strokes, streamering, or blast pressure waves, spark showers, and possible plasma penetration from direct strokes. The Boeing 747 had only just landed in Karachi, Pakistan, when members of Palestine's Abu Nidal Organization rushed the plane, armed with explosive belts, grenades, and AK-47s. Be Nice. However, the turbulence in the area where N709PA was operating was light to moderate and was not of the strength normally associated with a loss of control or structural failure. Carol Knuth Sakoian is reminded of her father whenever she smells a cigar or hears classical music. Metal splatters on the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer were identified by spectrographic analysis as being formed from two different aluminum alloys. Pan Am flight 103, also called Lockerbie bombing, flight of a passenger airliner operated by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, after a bomb was detonated. The aircraft was destroyed by explosion, impact, and fire. Witnesses in the accident area described the weather as cloudy, with light rain falling, and lightning. I just found this article while trying to research the names of the four crew members on board that were NOT in the cockpit. The area where the plane crashed off Delancy Road is now the neighborhood of Turnquist, but was then only populated by a few farm houses. Readings obtained varied from 0.000 ohms to 250,000 ohms. Crewlist of the PanAm Passengerlist of the PamAm Survivors that later died. 27,400 pounds of Type A were added at Baltimore resulting in the following quantities and mixtures: Nos. Based in New York City, she frequently travels internationally for business. [1]:1,3[5] The aircraft was completely destroyed, and all of the occupants were killed. [1]:8, The recovery of the wreckage took place over a period of 12 days, and 16 truckloads of the debris were taken to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC, for investigators to examine and reassemble. Continuing easterly the path, except for a concentration of five pieces of wreckage about 4,500 feet east-northeast of the crater, did not exceed 1,000 feet in width within 11,000 feet of the crater, at which point its track was about 255 degrees. The center tank[8] bottom skin was separated in three pieces. The wire bundle for the fluxgate compass transmitter showed signs of heat damage and charring of the insulation of one wire. Sherman, then 15, was home with his mother and younger brother in Wynnewood, Pa., when he heard the news of the plane crash over the radio. 1 (left) reserve tank, causing an explosion that blew apart the outer portion of the jetliner's port wing. However, there were two distinct wreckage paths and three concentrations in this area. At least 37 killed in Turkish cargo plane crash in Kyrgyzstan, Russian military plane carrying 92 on board, including famed army band, crashes into Black Sea, Passenger plane crashes while landing in Russia, Uz Zviedrijas un Norvijas robeas notikusi pasta lidmanas aviokatastrofa. In the days following the crash, area newspapers like the Delaware County Daily Times reported on the crash. 8:42p.m. Consequently, there is a direct correlation in time and location between the lightning discharge and start of events which culminated in the accident. Through work the society is doing now, future generations will have more information available regarding Flight 214. In a communitys history, there are lots of things that add to the heritage of that place. Sherman and more than a dozen of his family members are coming this weekend. Flight 605 was one of the worst fatal crashes in Maryland history, but nothing compared to Flight 214. 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. In 50 years though, Anthony points out air travel safety has increased phenomenally. There are now about 0.2 fatal accidents per million departures on commercial air carriers. The need for additional research is recognized and additional programming is planned. SIGMET No. However, these alloys could not be identified since the chemical composition of the deposits did not conform to any alloy used in the airplane. [28][27] Fuel-vent flame arrestors were added to aircraft to detect and discharge fire suppressant to extinguish fuel vapors that ignite at fuel-vent outlets. The then director of DuPonts engineering physics research laboratories told the paper he had once been on a plane struck by lightning and those inside the cabin hardly noticed; the metal skin of the airplane carried the lightnings current. Mr Tanguay's letter suggested reducing the volatility of the fuel/air gas mixture by introducing an inert gas, or by using air circulation. There was evidence of higher heat in this area and fused metal was found around the hole. The weather at Wilmington, Delaware, nine nautical miles east of the accident, was reported, at 2100, to be: 900 scattered, measured 4400 overcast, visibility 8 miles, thunderstorm, light rain, temperature 44, dew point 43, wind west-southwest 10 knots, thunderstorm began at 2054, thunderstorm west, movement unknown, lightning in cloud, cloud to ground west-northwest-northwest. [5] The wreckage was engulfed in intense fires that burned for more than four hours. Even more than 60 years later, the cause of that crash remains a mystery. Turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing were included in all routine forecasts as well as SIGMETS for the area surrounding the accident site during the period Flight 214 was to be operating in that region. 1, a schematic of the B-707 fuel system. With the jet-setting lifestyle, farewells arent said lightly. Skidding at high speed,. Following the crash, firefighters worked to extinguish the burning wreckage off Delancy Road. He said, I can assure you that the remains that you get back will be the remains of your loved ones, Miller recalled. This portion of the recording is not entirely clear, but this represents the best interpretation possible due to the quality of the tape. Nearer to and still northeast of the crater there were numerous pieces of still denser wreckage, such as fragments of wing structure surrounding the center section fuel tank, air conditioning packs including the primary heat exchangers, the right horizontal stabilizer, etc. On December 8, 1963, Pan Am Flight 214, a 707-121, crashed outside Elkton, Maryland during a severe electrical storm, with a loss of all 81 passengers and crew. https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Aircraft_Accident_Report:_Pan_Am_Flight_214&oldid=11128768. At this point, he had worked 14 hours at the crash site. Very slight outward bulging of the tank end rib was noted. With its swift speeds and glamorous allure, the 1958 debut of the Boeing 707 is generally credited with ushering the Jet Age, which peaked in the 1960s. Chris has visited Elkton several times to meet with witnesses and visit the crash site, now marked with a commemorative stone. I certainly cant imagine anything worse, Scott said. [26], Pan Am conducted a flight test in a Boeing 707 to investigate whether fuel could leak from the tank-venting system during a test flight that attempted to simulate moderate to rough turbulence in flight. 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. The aircraft crashed at 2059 in open country east of Elkton, Maryland. Everything outside lit up and as soon as I looked up I could see the plane on fire. The aircraft arrived at San Juan with 25,500 pounds of fuel[3] remaining aboard. Analysis of these samples revealed no discrepancies. Vacation clothing, some hanging in trees and some lying neatly folded on hangers in a ditch. A memorial for the victims of Pan American Airways Flight 214, which crashed in Elkton on Dec. 8, 1963. When relatives, friends and local witnesses gather in memory of the crash this weekend, members of the historical society will meet them privately to record their recollections. Still, there are times when bad turbulence makes Chris nervous. On December 8, 1963, the Boeing 707-121 serving the flight crashed near Elkton, Maryland, while flying from Baltimore to Philadelphia, after being hit by lightning. [1]:14 The flight engineer was John R. Kantlehner of Long Island. [24], The CAB conducted a public hearing in Philadelphia in February 1964 as part of its investigation. Remnants of 9 feet (3m) of the wing tip had been found at various points along the flight path short of the impact crater. Comments containing links to outside It was the way to travel in style, equipped the way a railroad club car would be with a lounge and other comforts. Prior to departure from San Juan the captain of Flight 214 was briefed on the weather along his intended route to Philadelphia. "[27], The crash of Pan Am Flight 214 called attention to previously unknown risks to aircraft from lightning strikes. 2 and 3 engines and pods. Then, with Kennedys assassination on Nov. 22, the year turned bleak. He was just 6 years old in 1963. The crater contained most of the fuselage and left inner wing wreckage, the left main gear and the nose gear. Statistics indicate that the majority of lightning strikes to aircraft occur at ambient temperatures near the freezing level. A trail of debris from the plane extended as far as 4 miles (6km) from the point of impact. Outside the armory, Miller, then 35,met a first responder who had been working in the field all night. Three other persons saw a ball of fire appear at the fork or one end of the lightning stroke. The crash was Pan Am's first fatal accident with the 707, which it had introduced to its fleet five years earlier. The recovery process took as many hearses and removal vehicles as possible, recalled Don Hicks, whose family owns Hicks Home for Funerals in Elkton. The apparent capricious nature of lightning is evidenced by the range of extremes as well as, in some cases, the unique nature of the damage that results. [22], Before this flight, lightning had not been known to cause a plane to crash, despite many instances of planes being struck. It didnt resemble an airplane. It was just one muddy mess, Hash said. Other phenomena, of which less is known because of generation and measuring difficulties, that are considered potential ignition sources are plasma, shock waves and sparking due to induced voltages from extremely high current rise rates that occur. Even though the aircraft was operating in precipitation at or near the freezing level, icing is not considered a factor. Even the video itself casts doubt, with the narrator noting after . One of the neighbors, a physician, came back to the house with Elizabeth to administer a sedative. This weekend, more than 20 of Joyce and Roberts family members will visit Elkton. On the morning of December 8, 1963, N709PA departed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Pan American Flight 213 and proceeded to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an en route stop at Baltimore, Maryland. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. You have permission to edit this article. For more difficult cases, Fisher and his team reconstructed faces as best possible using mannequins. I would share my and my familys actual experience of where we were at the time of the crash and what we went through thereafter. The flight was properly dispatched and cleared, and conformed to the air traffic control rules. On December 8, 1963, the Boeing 707-121 serving the flight crashed near Elkton, Maryland, while flying from Baltimore to Philadelphia, after being hit by lightning. Scientists said it was improbable for lightning to have caused the crash, Delawares News Journal reported. Years later when I had gone into the business and was hiring a sales engineer to take the place of one who was retiring, a guy came into my office to interview. Air carrier aircraft operated into and out of Philadelphia immediately before and after the accident. At 8:24p.m. EST, flight 214 departed for Philadelphia with 73 passengers and 8 crew members on board. The crash also spawned research into the safety of various types of aviation fuel and into methods of reducing dangerous fuel-tank vapors. Fatal accidents [ edit] 1920s [ edit] August 15, 1928 Fokker C-2 NC55 General Machado ditched in the Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key, Florida after all three engines stopped due to fuel exhaustion, killing one person. I still like Christmas very much, he said. Stiffeners and access doors were bowed outward. The group further concluded that additional research into the nature and effect of lightning strikes and electro-static discharges is warranted and that more information is desirable regarding the phenomena of fuel spray, misting, and localized vapor-air mixtures in tanks under actual flight conditions. Mt. A micro second is one millionth of a second. Still, if there was anyone to trust in the skies in 1963, it was George F. Knuth, then 45 and pilot of Flight 214. [18]:31, Initial theories of the cause of the crash focused on the possibility that the plane had experienced severe turbulence in flight that caused a fuel tank or fuel line to rupture, leading to an in-flight fire from leaking fuel. This entire sequence is accomplished in approximately one millisecond. 1 reserve fuel tank with resultant explosive disintegration of the left outer wing and loss of control. [1]:2[3], As the flight approached Philadelphia, the pilots made radio contact with air traffic control near Philadelphia at 8:42pm. As lightning periodically illuminated the cold, rainy night of December 8, 1963, five airliners flew in a holding pattern above Cecil County, awaiting clearance to land at Philadelphia International Airport. [3][20] Built to withstand an impact 100 times as strong as the force of gravity (g), it had been subjected to a force of 200 g, and its tape appeared to be hopelessly damaged. These sources indicate that a lightning stroke begins when the air's resistance to the passage of electricity breaks down. Seventy-two of these witnesses saw lightning and seven stated they saw the lightning strike the aircraft. Our obligation is to document history, and this was a sad one, but a formative one, Dixon said. In-flight fire damage was noted on the three steel tracks for the inboard flap on the track at the inboard end of the outboard flap, the inner end of the outboard flap, fragments of the spoilers, dump chute components, coverlip doors, and fragments of the fore flaps. [1]:14[5] Witnesses of the crash described hearing the explosion and seeing the plane in flames as it descended. These limits vary according to the temperature and pressure. By definition, lightning is always present in thunderstorms. Approximately 95 percent of the tape was reassembled and read out. Pan Am Flight 214 was a scheduled flight of Pan American World Airways from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was a nurse, an employee of Campbell Soup, a furniture dealer, a real estate broker and several dentists. And for the generation that was alive back at that time, albeit a catastrophic moment, this is one of them, Dixon said. [1]:5 Portions of the plane's right wing and fuselage, right main landing gear, horizontal and vertical tail surfaces, and two of the engines were found within 360 feet (110m) of the crater. Type A is a kerosene type turbine fuel with a flash point of 110-150F. It was a muddy night because it had been raining awful hard. The first commercial radio, WSER, had started to broadcast. We never let anyone go away mad when we say goodbye, Carol said. Seventy-two witnesses said that the ball of fire occurred at the same time as, or immediately after, the lightning strike. "[20] Eventually, investigators were able to extract data from 95% of the tape that had been in the recorder. Mae Grant, who was visiting her parents with her 3-month-old son at the Delancy Road family home at the time of the crash, recalled the dramatic moment in another previous interview with the Whig. It came out after I had hired him, that he was the last baby delivered by an OB/GYN who was also killed in that crash! When I finally went to sleep, I dreamed it wasnt true. I was a yeoman but that night it didn't matter, that night I was a SP. The detailed examination of surfaces, joints, rivets, screws, fittings, and fuel quality probes for physical evidence of ignition-producing sparks where ignitable fuel/air mixtures may normally be present disclosed no identifiable evidence of electrical arcing. These studies have also indicated the structural damage that would be caused by the different causes of ignition. The bodies of all persons aboard the aircraft were recovered and identified. Harmon Program: The Architecture of Taste: Building & Cooking in 18th Century Kitchens, The Elkton Plane Crash Memorial. The complete left wing tip, with portions of the left outer aileron and spar webs still attached, was found approximately 1.8 miles east-northeast of the main impact area. I was 6 at the time and my great uncle Bob, my name sake was kidled along with his wife Florence. To view our latest e-Edition, click the image on the left. The Federal Aviation Agency sponsored research, initiated immediately subsequent to the accident, with the intent of improving protection from ignition of fuel by lightning strikes to aircraft. The weather that Sunday night was an odd storm rain, sleet, thunder and lightning more appropriate for a sticky summer night. Thinking about the incident today, Shaffer questions whether it was easier for him to handle the situation than the older men in the fields, those who likely questioned what would happen to their families if they were killed in a horrific accident. 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. They said that the order would create a false impression that the risk of lightning strikes had been resolved. But on Dec. 8, Gilbert had to call his grandparents to tell them his parents, Robert and Joyce, had died on Flight 215. If you can't make the recordings, you can support us by donating. There is even a portion of the plane on display. The exact sequence and timing of the subsequent explosions and inflight fires are not known and are, in fact, somewhat academic with respect to the probable cause of the accident. Another was due to a bomb, and another due to a failed landing attempt. Snopes previously debunked the story in 2019, the same year that a YouTube page called "Bright Side" breathed new life into the myth when it published a viral video that has been viewed more than 19.2 million times.. This correlates with thunderstorm electrification theories that charge separation occurs about the freezing level. [15] He had 10,008 hours of flying experience, including 2,808 in Boeing 707 aircraft. December 8 2018 Pan Am Flight 214 was a scheduled flight of Pan American World Airways from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You werent obligated to do it, but you wanted to do it, you wanted to help your neighbor in need, he said. The lightning damage previously discussed was re-examined and confirmed. These streamers can have sufficient energy to ignite fuel vapors. In response to the findings, officials called for all commercial jets flying in the U.S. to be installed with lightning discharge wicks. On December 8, 1963, the Boeing 707-121 serving the flight crashed near Elkton, Maryland, while flying from Baltimore to Philadelphia, after being hit by lightning. 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. He has few memories of his father the garden, sitting on his lap at Christmas dinner, watching him ride a bike but hes been able to feel connected to him by traveling to places his father went. There was no evidence of pitting in the metal surface of the rib. Expert testimony at the hearing indicated that the fuel vapors in the air spaces of the tanks were well within the flammable range at the time of the accident. Carbon monoxide tests of passengers also indicated no elevated levels. Pan Am Flight 214 was a regularly scheduled flight from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia International Airport, with a scheduled stopover at Baltimore's Friendship Airport. Although physical evidence of the means by which ignition occurred was not found, the likelihood of ignition by lightning is not ruled out. Pan Am Flight 214 was a scheduled flight of Pan American World Airways from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Friendship Airport in Baltimore and Philadelphia International Airport. The family would have meals with six or eight vegetables at a time, even eggplant, which was then considered kind of unusual.

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