Northeast Airlines Flight 258
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 15, 1958 |
| Summary | Pilot error |
| Site | Near Nantucket Memorial Airport, Massachusetts |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Convair CV-240 |
| Operator | Northeast Airlines |
| Registration | N90670 |
| Flight origin | La Guardia Airport, New York City |
| Destination | Nantucket Memorial Airport |
| Passengers | 31 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 25 |
| Injuries | 9 |
| Survivors | 9 |
Northeast Airlines Flight 258 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from New York's La Guardia Airport that crashed while trying to land at Nantucket Memorial Airport, Massachusetts, at 11:34 on the night of August 15, 1958. All three crew-members and 22 of the 31 passengers were killed, among them Gordon Dean, former chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.[1]
The accident aircraft, a Convair 240, commenced a non-precision VOR approach to the uncontrolled airport despite the fact that visibility, at one-eighth of a mile in fog, was below the legal minimum required for such an approach. The aircraft flew into the ground a third of a mile short of the Runway 24 threshold and some 600 feet to the right of the extended centre-line.[2] A post-crash fire ensued; most survivors as well as many of the dead were ejected from the wreckage.[3][4]
A Civil Aeronautics Board investigation found that the captain of the aircraft failed to acknowledge transmissions warning him of the deteriorating weather conditions in the minutes before the crash. The CAB also criticised Northeast's training and operational procedures, noting deficiencies in aircrew proficiency, recordkeeping and monitoring of company radio frequencies.[5]
References
- ^ "Gordon Dean, 52, Was Truman Aide; Victim in Nantucket Crash Headed A.E.C. for 3 Years " New York Times Aug 17, 1958 link
- ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19580815-1
- ^ Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, August 16, 1958
- ^ "19 on airliner killed in crash at Nantucket; " New York Times ,Aug 19, 1958link
- ^ Lewiston (ME) Daily News, March 27, 1959
External links
- Accident description Aviation Safety Network
- The Patient in Room 601 - Documentary on crash of Flight 258 in Nantucket in 1958 focusing on Lita Levine, a survivor of the crash from New York City
 | This article about an aviation accident is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |