Before the crash, the crew called air traffic controllers to request a divert to a nearby airport, stating they were "low on fuel." The fact that a pretty big aircraft balled up while attempting a forced landing at twilight isn't all that surprising. The fact that there wasn't much, if any, fuel aboard is evident from the lack of a post-crash fire. Okay - those are the unvarnished, bare-bones words from those responsible for making the determination. the Safety Board believes that the discrepancy was of a general nature, such as an ignition or induction problem, and was not a major mechanical failure." So, bottom line: the plane ran out of gas and crashed. In the body of the report, the NTSB clarified that the engine malfunction itself most likely wasn't that big a deal: "Although examination of the engine and its components did not identify the exact discrepancy. ![]() Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption." "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. (The original airliner's was designed to carry up to 40 passengers, but this charter aircraft was equipped with tables and couches that cut into that number pretty significantly.)Īs far as what caused the crash itself, the investigators concluded the following: The aircraft itself was chock-full of people - it was configured for 24 passengers, and that's what it was carrying. Of the 26 crew and passengers aboard, both pilots and four passengers were killed, and the 20 survivors all were injured to varying degrees. The type of aircraft involved in the accident was a chartered, 30 year old Convair 240 owned and operated by L & J Company. ![]() ![]() The crash itself took place on October 20, 1977.
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