Los Angeles Airways Flight 841
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 was a Sikorsky S-61L helicopter
that crashed at 5:50 p.m. on May 22, 1968 in the city of Paramount
, California
. All twenty passengers and three crewmembers were fatally injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. The probable cause of the accident was a mechanical failure in the blade rotor system, which then allowed one blade to strike the side of the fuselage. The other four blades were then thrown out of balance and all five rotor blades broke and then the rear fuselage and tail separated from the rest of the airframe. The cause of the mechanical failure is undetermined. At the time, it was the worst helicopter accident in U.S. aviation history.
Los Angeles Airways
(LAA) Flight 841 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Disneyland Heliport in Anaheim
, California
to Los Angeles International Airport
. The flight was westbound at 2,000 feet over Paramount, California when air traffic controllers received a distress message from pilots: "L.A., we’re crashing, help us." The helicopter crashed onto a dairy farm and burst into flames. N303Y, a Sikorsky S-61L helicopter, serial number 61060, had accumulated 12,096 total flying hours prior to the accident.
executive; the mayor of Red Bluff, California
; and a University of California, Berkeley
professor.
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
that crashed at 5:50 p.m. on May 22, 1968 in the city of Paramount
Paramount, California
Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098 down from 55,266 at the 2000 census...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. All twenty passengers and three crewmembers were fatally injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. The probable cause of the accident was a mechanical failure in the blade rotor system, which then allowed one blade to strike the side of the fuselage. The other four blades were then thrown out of balance and all five rotor blades broke and then the rear fuselage and tail separated from the rest of the airframe. The cause of the mechanical failure is undetermined. At the time, it was the worst helicopter accident in U.S. aviation history.
Los Angeles Airways
Los Angeles Airways
Los Angeles Airways was a helicopter airline that was based in Westchester, Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles Airways offered services to area airports as well as Disneyland from Los Angeles International Airport and the heliport at the Newporter Resort, now the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach...
(LAA) Flight 841 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Disneyland Heliport in Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
. The flight was westbound at 2,000 feet over Paramount, California when air traffic controllers received a distress message from pilots: "L.A., we’re crashing, help us." The helicopter crashed onto a dairy farm and burst into flames. N303Y, a Sikorsky S-61L helicopter, serial number 61060, had accumulated 12,096 total flying hours prior to the accident.
Wreckage
Much of the debris was contained in the dairy farm where the helicopter crashed. The tail rotor was discovered one block east of the crash site in a used truck yard. A mechanical failure in the helicopter’s main rotor hub caused one of the rotor blades to detach and it sliced into the fuselage.Notable Passengers
Among those killed was a group of nine vacationers from Ohio; a Hunt-Wesson FoodsHunt's
Hunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co. by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby Santa Rosa in 1890, and then to Hayward in 1895...
executive; the mayor of Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census....
; and a University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
professor.
See also
- Los Angeles Airways Flight 417Los Angeles Airways Flight 417Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 was a helicopter that crashed on August 14, 1968 in the city of Compton, California. All eighteen passengers and three crewmembers were fatally injured. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. According to the National Transportation Safety Board the...
- List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners