Braniff Airlines Flight 250
Encyclopedia
Braniff Airways Flight 250 crashed near Falls City, Nebraska
, on August 6, 1966. It was en route to Omaha, Nebraska
, from Kansas City, Missouri
. Thirty-eight passengers and four crew members were killed in the crash.
-203AE, registration number N1553.
Flight 250 was operated by Braniff between New Orleans and Minneapolis – Saint Paul with stops in between at Shreveport
, Ft. Smith
, Tulsa
, Kansas City and Omaha. It departed Kansas City at 22:55 on an IFR clearance to Omaha at FL200. However, the crew asked if they could remain at 5000 feet because of the weather. The flight remained at 6000 feet until permission was received at 23:06 to descend to 5000 feet. At 23:08 the crew contacted a company flight that had just departed Omaha. This flight reported moderate to light turbulence. About four minutes later the aircraft entered an area of an active squall
line. The One-Eleven violently accelerated upward and in a left roll. At this time the right tailplane
and the fin failed. The aircraft then pitched nose down and within one or two seconds the right wing failed as well. The plane tumbled down in flames until stabilizing into a flat spin
before impacting the ground. The probable cause was in-flight structural failure caused by extreme turbulence during operation of the aircraft in an area of avoidable hazardous weather.
Braniff regulations prohibited a plane from being dispatched into an area with a solid line of thunderstorms; however the company forecast was somewhat inaccurate with respect to the number and intensity of thunderstorms and the intensity of the associated turbulence. Braniff dispatchers were aware that their flight 255 had delayed departing Sioux City
for Omaha by one hour to allow the storm to pass Omaha; they also knew that their flight 234 from St. Louis
to Des Moines
had diverted to Kansas City due to the storm. They did not inform the crew of these events believing they were too far from the route of flight 250 to be relevant.
Dr. Ted Fujita
, a recognized weather researcher and professor of meteorology at the University of Chicago
, was hired by British Aircraft Corporation
, the manufacturer of the BAC One-Eleven, to study how the weather affected the jet. Dr. Fujita is recognized as the discoverer of downburst
s and microburst
s and also developed the Fujita scale
, which differentiates tornado intensity and links tornado damage with wind speed.
A memorial was placed at the crash site in a farm field northeast of Falls City, Nebraska, on August 6, 2006, the 40th anniversary of the crash.
This crash is covered in detail in the book Air Disaster (Vol. 1) by Macarthur Job
, illustrated by Matthew Tesch.
(All times Central Standard Time. Daylight time
was used only in Minnesota
along the flight's route until 1967.)
Falls City, Nebraska
Falls City is a city in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richardson County.-Geography:Falls City is located at ....
, on August 6, 1966. It was en route to Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, from Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Thirty-eight passengers and four crew members were killed in the crash.
Overview
The plane was a BAC 111BAC One-Eleven
The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
-203AE, registration number N1553.
Flight 250 was operated by Braniff between New Orleans and Minneapolis – Saint Paul with stops in between at Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, Ft. Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, Kansas City and Omaha. It departed Kansas City at 22:55 on an IFR clearance to Omaha at FL200. However, the crew asked if they could remain at 5000 feet because of the weather. The flight remained at 6000 feet until permission was received at 23:06 to descend to 5000 feet. At 23:08 the crew contacted a company flight that had just departed Omaha. This flight reported moderate to light turbulence. About four minutes later the aircraft entered an area of an active squall
Squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...
line. The One-Eleven violently accelerated upward and in a left roll. At this time the right tailplane
Tailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
and the fin failed. The aircraft then pitched nose down and within one or two seconds the right wing failed as well. The plane tumbled down in flames until stabilizing into a flat spin
Spin (flight)
In aviation, a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in autorotation about the spin axis wherein the aircraft follows a corkscrew downward path. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude and from practically any airspeed—all that is required is sufficient yaw...
before impacting the ground. The probable cause was in-flight structural failure caused by extreme turbulence during operation of the aircraft in an area of avoidable hazardous weather.
Braniff regulations prohibited a plane from being dispatched into an area with a solid line of thunderstorms; however the company forecast was somewhat inaccurate with respect to the number and intensity of thunderstorms and the intensity of the associated turbulence. Braniff dispatchers were aware that their flight 255 had delayed departing Sioux City
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
for Omaha by one hour to allow the storm to pass Omaha; they also knew that their flight 234 from St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
had diverted to Kansas City due to the storm. They did not inform the crew of these events believing they were too far from the route of flight 250 to be relevant.
Dr. Ted Fujita
Ted Fujita
was a prominent severe storms researcher. His research at the University of Chicago on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons revolutionized knowledge of each.- Biography :Fujita was born in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan...
, a recognized weather researcher and professor of meteorology at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, was hired by British Aircraft Corporation
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
, the manufacturer of the BAC One-Eleven, to study how the weather affected the jet. Dr. Fujita is recognized as the discoverer of downburst
Downburst
A downburst is created by an area of significantly rain-cooled air that, after reaching ground level, spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Unlike winds in a tornado, winds in a downburst are directed outwards from the point where it hits land or water...
s and microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
s and also developed the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
, which differentiates tornado intensity and links tornado damage with wind speed.
A memorial was placed at the crash site in a farm field northeast of Falls City, Nebraska, on August 6, 2006, the 40th anniversary of the crash.
This crash is covered in detail in the book Air Disaster (Vol. 1) by Macarthur Job
Macarthur Job
Macarthur Job is an Australian aviation writer and air safety consultant. He has published nine books on aviation safety...
, illustrated by Matthew Tesch.
(All times Central Standard Time. Daylight time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
was used only in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
along the flight's route until 1967.)