Event Details


Title:Flaps-up takeoff, Pan American World Airways, Inc., Boeing 707-321C, N799PA, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska, December 26, 1968
Micro summary:This Boeing 707 crashed on takeoff with the flaps retracted.
Event Time:1968-12-26 at 0615 Alaska Standard Time
File Name:1968-12-26-US.pdf
Publishing Agency:National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Publishing Country:USA
Report number:NTSB-AAR-1969-08
Pages:28
Site of event:Elmendorf AFB
Latitude/Longitude:N61°16' W149°50'W
Departure:Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska
Destination:Cam Ranh Airport, Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam
Airplane Type(s):Boeing 707-321C
Flight Phase:Takeoff
Registration(s):N799PA
Operator(s):Pan American World Airways
Type of flight:Revenue
Occupants:3
Fatalities:3
Serious Injuries:0
Minor/Non-Injured:0
Other Injuries:0
Executive Summary:Pan American Clipper, N799PA, a Boeing 707-321C, cargo/mail flight bound for Vietnam via Tokyo, Japan, crashed on takeoff from Runway 23, Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska, at approximately 0615 AST on December 26, 1968. The aircraft was destroyed. The accident was fatal to all three crewmembers, who were the only occupants aboard the aircraft.

The takeoff was made with the flaps in the retracted position. A takeoff aural warning system,which is designed to alert the crew to the fact that the flaps are not in the proper takeoff position, did not activate.

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an attempted takeoff with the flaps in a retracted position. This resulted from a combination of factors: (a) inadequate cockpit check- list and procedures; (b) a warning system inadequacy associated with cold weather operations; (c) ineffective control practices regarding manufacturer's Service Bulletins; and (d) stresses imposed upon the crew by their attempts to meet an air traffic control deadline.
Learning Keywords:Operations - Airspace - Air Traffic Control
Operations - Checklists/Procedures
Operations - Uncontrolled Flight into Terrain
Systems - Flight Controls - Flap Configuration
Consequence - Hull Loss
Close match:Aircraft incident at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, December 7, 1997, Finland
Late gear and flap selection, Boeing 767-200, N653US
Uncommanded pitch-up, Fokker F27-600 Friendship, G-CHNL
Loss of Pitch Control During Takeoff, Air Midwest Flight 5481, Raytheon (Beechcraft) 1900D, N233YV, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 8, 2003
Stall on takeoff, Bombardier CL-600-2B16 (CL-604), C-FTBZ , Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas, October 10, 2000
Uncontrolled Impact With Terrain, Fine Airlines Flight 101, Douglas DC-8-61, N27UA, Miami, Florida, August 7, 1997
Wheels-up Landing, Continental Airlines Flight 1943, Douglas DC-9, N10556, Houston, Texas February 19, 1996
Crash on takeoff, Northwest Airlines, Inc., McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, N312RC, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus, Michigan, August 16, 1987
Runway excursion, United Air Lines, Inc., Boeing 727 QC, N7425U, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Illinois, March 21, 1968
Crashed short, National Airlines, Inc., B-727-235, N47MNA, Escambia Bay, Pensacola, Florida, May 8, 1978

 




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