TWA Flight 260: Difference between revisions
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At 7:13 the flight crashed into the Sandia Mountains killing all 13 passengers and three crew members on board instantly. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, a day after the crash several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers assisted the [[New Mexico State Police]] in the recovery efforts leading to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, a voluntary organization still active today. |
At 7:13 the flight crashed into the Sandia Mountains killing all 13 passengers and three crew members on board instantly. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, a day after the crash several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers assisted the [[New Mexico State Police]] in the recovery efforts leading to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, a voluntary organization still active today. |
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Wreckage from the craft still remains, and can still be seen on brightly lit days by riders of the [[Sandia Peak Tramway]], a popular tourist attraction active since 1965. Originally the cause was believed to be that the pilots were “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain” but five years later the probable cause was changed to “deviation from course for reasons unknown” with speculation that the [[fluxgate compass]] may have malfunctioned. Pilots had complained of that particular aircraft's RMI ( |
Wreckage from the craft still remains, and can still be seen on brightly lit days by riders of the [[Sandia Peak Tramway]], a popular tourist attraction active since 1965. Originally the cause was believed to be that the pilots were “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain” but five years later the probable cause was changed to “deviation from course for reasons unknown” with speculation that the [[fluxgate compass]] may have malfunctioned. Pilots had complained of that particular aircraft's RMI (Radio Magnetic Indicator) malfunctioning under certain operational circumstances but maintenance personnel had been unable to duplicate the complaint on the ground, and returned the aircraft to service. |
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After the fatal flight, the captain, Ivan Spong and co-pilot James Creason were primarily blamed for navigational malfeasance by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), resulting in many incidences of Captain Spong's widow receiving "death-threat" phone calls, presumably from victims' surviving relatives or friends. Only after fellow-pilots repeated efforts imploring the CAB to re-open the investigation, coupled with accident-site souvenir-hunter's discovery of the aforementioned RMI, was laboratory testing able to reproduce the instrument's navigational errors. This proof finally convinced the CAB to amend the accident report probable-cause to be instrument error; finally absolving the flight crew of blame. |
After the fatal flight, the captain, Ivan Spong and co-pilot James Creason were primarily blamed for navigational malfeasance by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), resulting in many incidences of Captain Spong's widow receiving "death-threat" phone calls, presumably from victims' surviving relatives or friends. Only after fellow-pilots repeated efforts imploring the CAB to re-open the investigation, coupled with accident-site souvenir-hunter's discovery of the aforementioned RMI, was laboratory testing able to reproduce the instrument's navigational errors. This proof finally convinced the CAB to amend the accident report probable-cause to be instrument error; finally absolving the flight crew of blame. |
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Revision as of 04:24, 11 July 2013
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 A Martin 4-0-4, circa 1955, in Eastern Airlines livery. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 19, 1955 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA |
| Aircraft type | Martin 4-0-4 |
| Operator | Trans World Airlines |
| Registration | N40416 |
| Flight origin | Albuquerque International Airport, NM (ABQ/KABQ) |
| Destination | Santa Fe Municipal Airport, NM (SAF/KSAF) |
| Passengers | 13 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 16 (all) |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
TWA Flight 260 was the Trans World Airlines (TWA) designation for a flight from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1950s. On February 19, 1955, the 40-passenger Martin 4-0-4 prop plane used by TWA for that route crashed into the Sandia Mountains. Initially believed to be the result of pilot error, the cause was revised to imply that the crash was the result of instrument failure.
History
On February 19, 1955 at 7:03 am, TWA flight 260 en route from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico received an IFR clearance from the Albuquerque tower ("ATC clears TWA 260 for approach at the Santa Fe Airport via Victor 19 climb northbound on the back course of the ILS localizer"). There were no further communications after the aircraft took off at 7:05. It was last seen in a high speed shallow climb toward the cloud-shrouded Sandia Ridge at an estimated altitude of 3,000 feet above ground level.
At 7:13 the flight crashed into the Sandia Mountains killing all 13 passengers and three crew members on board instantly. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, a day after the crash several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers assisted the New Mexico State Police in the recovery efforts leading to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, a voluntary organization still active today.
Wreckage from the craft still remains, and can still be seen on brightly lit days by riders of the Sandia Peak Tramway, a popular tourist attraction active since 1965. Originally the cause was believed to be that the pilots were “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain” but five years later the probable cause was changed to “deviation from course for reasons unknown” with speculation that the fluxgate compass may have malfunctioned. Pilots had complained of that particular aircraft's RMI (Radio Magnetic Indicator) malfunctioning under certain operational circumstances but maintenance personnel had been unable to duplicate the complaint on the ground, and returned the aircraft to service.
After the fatal flight, the captain, Ivan Spong and co-pilot James Creason were primarily blamed for navigational malfeasance by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), resulting in many incidences of Captain Spong's widow receiving "death-threat" phone calls, presumably from victims' surviving relatives or friends. Only after fellow-pilots repeated efforts imploring the CAB to re-open the investigation, coupled with accident-site souvenir-hunter's discovery of the aforementioned RMI, was laboratory testing able to reproduce the instrument's navigational errors. This proof finally convinced the CAB to amend the accident report probable-cause to be instrument error; finally absolving the flight crew of blame.
External links
- Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council
- Sandia Peak
- Photographs of TWA Canyon in the Cibola National Forest, Sandia Mountains