Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 March 1950 |
| Summary | Pilot error, controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Minneapolis, Minnesota 44°54′32.6916″N 93°17′39.2094″W / 44.909081000°N 93.294224833°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Martin 2-0-2 |
| Operator | Northwest Orient Airlines |
| Registration | N93050 |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 15 (2 on the ground) |
| Survivors | 0 |
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 was a scheduled domestic flight in the United States routing Washington, DC–Detroit–Madison–Rochester–Minneapolis-St. Paul–Winnipeg. On 7 March 1950, the flight was operated by a Martin 2-0-2, registered N93050, when it crashed into a house on approach to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport after first hitting a flagpole.[1] The three crew members and ten passengers on board were all killed, as were two children in the house.[2]
Accident
Flight 307 was attempting to land at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport the area had blowing snow.[1] The left wing hit a 70-foot flagpole about 4,180 feet from the touchdown point and 650 feet west of the approach center line.[1] The aircraft was about 3.8 miles northwest of the airport when a section of the left wing detached and the aircraft dived into the house at 1116 Minnehaha Parkway West[3] from a height of about 300 feet.[1] The aircraft was destroyed by fire and two children in the house were killed.[1]
Aircraft
The aircraft was a Martin 2-0-2 twin-engined piston airliner designed to carry 42 passengers. It had been delivered new to Northwest Orient Airlines on 6 May 1948 as registration N93050.[4]
Probable cause
The probable cause of the crash was an attempt to complete an approach with a loss of visual reference to the ground.[1]
References
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f Civil Aviation Authority 1974, p. 3/50
- ^ Meersman, Tom (29 July 2011), "Keeping a Tragedy from Fading.", Star Tribune, Minneapolis, pp. A1
- ^ Hudson, Bill. "Long Forgotten NWA Crash In Mpls. Stirs Memories". Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ Eastwood 1991, p. 267
- Bibliography
- World Accident Summary. Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 1974. ISBN 0-903083-44-2.
- Eastwood, Tony; John Roach (1991). Piston Engine Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop. ISBN 0-907178-37-5.
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1950
- Airliner accidents and incidents in Minnesota
- Accidents and incidents involving the Martin 2-0-2
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
- 1950 in Minnesota
- History of Minneapolis
- Northwest Airlines accidents and incidents
- March 1950 events
- Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport