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N0KFQ > TODAY 05.03.12 01:39l 38 Lines 1515 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 18664_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Mar 4
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DK0WUE<7M3TJZ<ZL2BAU<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 120304/2307Z 18664@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.49
Mar 4, 1962:
DC-7 crashes in Cameroon swamp
A Trans-African DC-7 crashes on takeoff in Douala, Cameroon, on
this day in 1962. A simple mechanical failure doomed the flight
and its 111 passengers and crew. This was the first
single-airplane disaster in history in which more than 100 people
died.
The DC-7 was a charter plane owned by the Trans-African Coach
Company. On March 4, Flight 153 took off from Mozambique, stopped
in Lisbon, Portugal, and then arrived in Cameroon before it was
due to fly on to Luxembourg. The previous legs of the flight had
been uneventful, so it came as a surprise when the plane had
difficulty taking off from Douala Airport.
At about 6:20 p.m., the flight was cleared for takeoff, but it
took nearly the entire length of the runway for the plane to get
off the ground. About a mile and a half into its journey, the
plane struck several trees and crashed into a swamp. The
subsequent fireball killed all 101 passengers and 10 crew members
on board. An investigation later revealed that the probable cause
of the catastrophe was a jammed elevator spring tab, a part of
the plane critical to controlling lift and altitude.
Two more airplane disasters killing more than 100 people also
occurred in 1962. In fact, just 12 days later, 107 people died in
a Pacific Ocean crash involving a Lockheed Super Constellation
plane. Two more accidents killing more than 100 followed that
summer.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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