Arrow Air Flight 1285R

Coordinates: 48°54′43″N 54°34′27″W / 48.91194°N 54.57417°W / 48.91194; -54.57417
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Arrow Air Flight 1285
Wreckage from Arrow Air Flight 1285 in storage at a Gander Airport hangar on December 16, 1985
Accident
Date12 December 1985
SummaryIcing conditions, weight and reference speeds miscalculation (on board fire and possible internal explosion per minority report)
SiteGander, Newfoundland, Canada
48°54′43″N 54°34′27″W / 48.91194°N 54.57417°W / 48.91194; -54.57417
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF
OperatorArrow Air
RegistrationN950JW
Flight originCairo International Airport, Egypt
StopoverCologne Bonn Airport,
West Germany
Last stopoverGander International Airport, Newfoundland, Canada
DestinationFort Campbell, Kentucky, United States
Passengers248
Crew8
Fatalities256 (all)
Survivors0
Gander  is located in Canada
Gander 
Gander 
class=notpageimage|
Location in Canada
Gander is located in Newfoundland
Gander
Gander
class=notpageimage|
Location in Newfoundland

Arrow Air Flight 1285 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 jetliner that operated as an international charter flight carrying U.S. troops from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, West Germany and Gander, Canada.[1]

On the morning of Thursday, 12 December 1985, shortly after takeoff from Gander en route to Fort Campbell, the aircraft stalled, crashed, and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 248 passengers and 8 crew members on board.[2] As of 2017, it has the highest death toll of any aviation accident on Canadian soil and the second-highest of any accident involving a DC-8,[3] behind the crash of Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 six years later.

The accident was investigated by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB), which determined the probable cause of the crash was the aircraft's unexpectedly high drag and reduced lift condition, most likely due to ice contamination on the wings' leading edges and upper surfaces, as well as underestimated onboard weight.[4] A minority report stated that the accident could have been caused by an onboard explosion of unknown origin prior to impact.[5]

Flight history

An Arrow Air DC-8-63CF, identical to the one that crashed.

The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF, was chartered to carry U.S. Army personnel, all members of the 101st Airborne Division, back to their base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They had completed a six-month deployment in the Sinai, in the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission.[3] The DC-8 involved in the accident (registration N950JW)[6] had been constructed in 1969, and had been leased to Arrow Air by its owner/parent company, International Air Leases.[4]

The flight was made up of three legs, with refueling stops in Cologne and Gander.[4] The aircraft departed Cairo at 20:35 UTC, and arrived at Cologne on 12 December 1985, at 01:21 UTC.

A new flight crew (consisting of Captain John Griffin and First Officer John Robert Connelly, both 45, and Flight Engineer Michael Fowler, 48) boarded the aircraft before it departed for Gander at 02:50 UTC.[4] The aircraft arrived at Gander International Airport at 09:04, where passengers departed the aircraft while the aircraft was refueled. Witnesses reported the flight engineer conducted an external inspection of the aircraft, after which the passengers re-boarded the aircraft.[4]

The DC-8 began its take-off roll on runway 22 from the intersection of runway 13 at 10:15 UTC (06:45 NST). It rotated near taxiway A, 51 seconds after brake release, at an airspeed of about 167 KIAS.[4] Witnesses reported the aircraft showed difficulty gaining altitude after rotation. Airborne, the airspeed reached 172 KIAS and began to decrease again, causing the DC-8 to descend. After crossing the Trans-Canada Highway, located about 900 feet (270 m) from the departure end of runway 22, at a very low altitude, the aircraft's pitch increased and it continued to descend.[4]

Witnesses driving on the highway stated that they saw a bright glow emanating from the aircraft before it struck terrain just short of Gander Lake and crashed approximately 900 feet (270 m) beyond the departure end of the runway.[4] Flight 1285 broke up, struck an unoccupied building[4] and exploded; this started a fire which increased in severity due to the large amount of fuel on board for the final leg of the flight. All 248 passengers and eight crew aboard the aircraft perished.[3][4]

Investigation

The Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) investigated the crash, and, under the signature of five of nine board members, found that during its approach toward Gander, precipitation conditions were favorable for the formation of ice on the aircraft's wings. After landing, it continued to be exposed to "freezing and frozen precipitation capable of producing roughening on the wing upper surface" in addition to the freezing temperature. They also found that prior to takeoff the aircraft had not been de-iced.[4] The Board issued the following Probable Cause statement in its final report:[3][4]

The Canadian Aviation Safety Board was unable to determine the exact sequence of events which led to this accident. The Board believes, however, that the weight of evidence supports the conclusion that, shortly after lift-off, the aircraft experienced an increase in drag and reduction in lift which resulted in a stall at low altitude from which recovery was not possible. The most probable cause of the stall was determined to be ice contamination on the leading edge and upper surface of the wing. Other possible factors such as a loss of thrust from the number four engine and inappropriate take-off reference speeds may have compounded the effects of the contamination.

Four (of nine) members of the CASB dissented, issuing a minority opinion asserting that there was no evidence presented proving that ice had been present on leading edges such as the wings, and the minority report speculated that "An in-flight fire that may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin brought about catastrophic system failures."[5]

The report also noted the inadequacy of the data from the antiquated foil-tape Flight Data Recorder, which recorded only airspeed, altitude, heading, and vertical acceleration forces. The plane also took off with a non-functioning cockpit area microphone. There were also no steps on any of the standard checklists to test the functionality of the microphone, despite the existence of a button in the cockpit for that sole purpose. The defect went undetected for an indeterminate number of flights leading up to the accident flight, and thus the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) did not record any useful data.[4]

Willard Estey, a former Supreme Court of Canada judge, submitted a review of the CASB report in 1989, ruling that the available evidence did not support either conclusion.[7] As a result, the Canadian public's confidence in the CASB was undermined. The federal government responded by creating the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.[8]

Aftermath

Caskets being carried in for a memorial service at Dover AFB on 16 December 1985
The "Silent Witness" Arrow Air Flight 1285 memorial at Gander Lake, with a DC-8 taking off in the background
Arrow Air Flight 1285 memorial at Ft. Campbell

On the day of the crash, responsibility was claimed by Islamic Jihad, a wing of Hezbollah. The claim was dismissed by the Canadian and U.S. governments soon afterward.[2][9] According to United Press International "Hours after the crash the Islamic Jihad – a Shiite Muslim extremist group – claimed it destroyed the plane to prove [its] ability to strike at the Americans anywhere." Pentagon and Canadian government officials rejected the claim, made by an anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut.[10]

Two hundred fifty-six people died – 248 U.S. servicemen and eight crew members. As of 2009, that death toll constituted the deadliest plane crash in Canada,[11] and the United States Army's single deadliest air crash in peacetime.[12]

Of the 248 servicemen, all but twelve were members of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), most of whom were from the 3d Battalion, 502nd Infantry; eleven were from other Forces Command units; and one was an agent from the Criminal Investigations Command (CID).[13]

A memorial to the 256 victims at the crash site overlooks Gander Lake, and another memorial was erected at Fort Campbell. There is also a Memorial Park in Hopkinsville, KY, just north of Fort Campbell. As of 2017, the scar from the crash is still very visible, and can be seen on the ground and in satellite pictures.

In 1991, Les Filotas, one of the four CASB board members who dissented in the final report, published an exhaustive argument for the minority opinion that a possible in-flight explosion doomed the aircraft.[14]

Mark Kerrigan, brother of figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, was serving in the 101st Airborne Division at the time, and was originally intended to be on the flight. He did not board the flight, but 248 members of his unit including his two best friends were on the flight and died. The trauma of losing so many people close to him was said to have caused Kerrigan to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and have been a significant factor in causing him later legal problems.[15][failed verification]

In popular culture

The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday featured the Flight 1285 crash and investigation in a Season 11 episode titled Split Decision, which included interviews with accident investigators and a dramatic recreation of the accident.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "258 killed in Gander plane crash". The Citizen. Ottawa, Canada. Canadian Press. 12 December 1985. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b "Terror bomb ruled out in Canada's worst crash". Montreal Gazette. news services. 13 December 1985. p. A1.
  3. ^ a b c d Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Aviation Occurrence Report, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985" (PDF). Canadian Aviation Safety Board. 14 November 1988. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b Dissenting Opinion, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985 (PDF). Canadian Aviation Safety Board. 14 November 1988. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. ^ "FAA Registry (N950JW)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  7. ^ "Canada Judge Rejects New Gander Crash Probe". Los Angeles Times. 22 July 1989. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  8. ^ Watson, Blair. "The Transportation Safety Board Taking centre stage to advance aviation safety Archived 25 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine." Wings at Transportation Safety Board of Canada. July/August 2008. Retrieved on 17 September 2010.
  9. ^ "Plane's airworthiness questioned". The Citizen. Ottawa, Canada. staff and wire reports. 13 December 1985. p. 1.
  10. ^ Watson, Laurie (6 November 1988). "Errors By Crew Reportedly Cited In Gander Crash". The Philadelphia Inquirer, United Press International. p. A33. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "Aviation Safety Network". Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Wolf, Marion E. (1990). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Etiology, Phenomenology, and Treatment. American Psychiatric Pub, p. 127. ISBN 0880482990
  13. ^ Gough, Terrence J. (1995). "Tragedy at Gander". Department of the Army Historical Summary Fiscal Year 1986. United States Army Center of Military History. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Filotas, Les (1991). Improbable cause: dissent and deceit in the investigation of Canada's worst air disaster. Toronto: Seal Books.
  15. ^ Lavoie, Denise (26 May 2011). "Kerrigan's brother gets 2.5 years for dad assault". Associated Press. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Blowout". Mayday. Season 11. 2011. Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic Channel.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arrow Air Flight 1285.
External image
image icon Pre-crash photos of the DC-8 in service with Arrow Air and other airline companies at Airliners.net
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