Continental Micronesia Flight 614
Encyclopedia
Continental Air Micronesia Flight 614 was a Boeing 727
-92C, N18479, that crashed at 09:52 local time on November 21, 1980.
The Continental Air Micronesia
airliner
crashed while attempting to land on runway 7 at Yap International Airport
in the western Caroline Islands
when the right main landing gear immediately separated from the aircraft. The aircraft touched down 13 feet short of the runway
, gradually veered off the runway and came to rest in the jungle about 1,700 feet beyond the initial touchdown point. Fire erupted along the right side of the aircraft as it came to a stop. All 73 occupants (67 passengers and 6 crewmembers) escaped before fire destroyed the aircraft. Three persons received serious injuries; the remainder received minor or no injuries.
flying a shallow approach slope angle to an improper touchdown aim point. These actions resulted in a high rate of descent and a touchdown on upward sloping terrain short of the runway threshold, damaging the right landing gear. Contributing to the accident were the captain's lack of recent experience in the B-727 aircraft, wrongly applying his previous experience to fly DC-10 aircraft.
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
-92C, N18479, that crashed at 09:52 local time on November 21, 1980.
The Continental Air Micronesia
Continental Micronesia
Continental Micronesia, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of operations at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on Guam, a U.S. territory in...
airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
crashed while attempting to land on runway 7 at Yap International Airport
Yap International Airport
Yap International Airport is an airport located in Yap, the main island of the State of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.- External links :**AirNav.com: FAA information for...
in the western Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
when the right main landing gear immediately separated from the aircraft. The aircraft touched down 13 feet short of the runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
, gradually veered off the runway and came to rest in the jungle about 1,700 feet beyond the initial touchdown point. Fire erupted along the right side of the aircraft as it came to a stop. All 73 occupants (67 passengers and 6 crewmembers) escaped before fire destroyed the aircraft. Three persons received serious injuries; the remainder received minor or no injuries.
Cause
Following , the probable cause of this accident was the captain's premature reduction of thrust in combination withflying a shallow approach slope angle to an improper touchdown aim point. These actions resulted in a high rate of descent and a touchdown on upward sloping terrain short of the runway threshold, damaging the right landing gear. Contributing to the accident were the captain's lack of recent experience in the B-727 aircraft, wrongly applying his previous experience to fly DC-10 aircraft.
External links
- ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-92C N18479 Yap Airport, Western Caroline Islands (YAP) - Aviation Safety NetworkAviation Safety Network-External links:**...