 A DC-3 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 8, 1959 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Holston Mountain, Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-3A |
| Operator | Southeast Airlines |
| Registration | N18941 |
| Flight origin | McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Destination | Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Bristol, Tennessee, United States |
| Passengers | 7 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 10 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Southeast Airlines Flight 308 was an American domestic flight operated by Southeast Airlines between Knoxville and Bristol, Tennessee, in the United States. On January 8, 1959, it was flown by a Douglas DC-3A registered N18941. On approach to Tri-Cities Regional Airport at Bristol, the aircraft crashed into the Holston Mountain range with the loss of all on board.
Accident
The aircraft departed McGhee Tyson Airport outside of Knoxville 27 minutes late on what was the second leg of the flight with seven passengers and three crew. The DC-3A was cleared for an approach to runway 27 at Tri-Cities Regional Airport. The visibility at the airport was 3 miles (4.8 km) in light snow and fog with a 900-foot (274 m) broken ceiling and overcast at 1,700 feet (518 m). The crew reported problems with the automatic direction finder and they were unable to find the outer marker visually or aurally. The aircraft passed to the east of the outer marker and while outside the normal procedure turn area descended and hit the wooded slope on the north-west side of the Holston Mountain range, killing all 10 people on board.
Probable cause
Following an investigation of the accident, the investigation board reported, "The Board determines the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the pilot to identify Gray intersection properly and his decision to continue an ILS (instrument landing system) approach contrary to company and regulatory procedures".
References
- Citations
- ^ Civil Aviation Authority 1974, p. 1/59
- Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on November 16, 2011.
- Bibliography
- "Final accident report". Civil Aeronautics Board. 8 January 1959.
- World Accident Summary. Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 1974. ISBN 0-903083-44-2.
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959 (1959) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 8 Southeast Airlines Flight 308Jan 11 Lufthansa Flight 502Jan 16 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 205Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 320Feb 3 Clear Lake crash ("The Day the Music Died")Feb 3 Pan Am Flight 115Feb 17 Turkish Airlines Gatwick crashApr 23 Air Charter Turkey crashMay 12 Capital Airlines Flight 75Jun 22 Pan Am Clipper PanamaJun 26 TWA Flight 891Jun 30 Okinawa F-100 crashAug 15 American Airlines Flight 514Aug 19 Transair Douglas Dakota accidentSep 24 TAI Flight 307Sep 29 Braniff Flight 542Oct 19 1959 Arlington Boeing 707 crashOct 23 Aeroflot Flight 200Oct 30 Piedmont Airlines Flight 349Nov 16 National Airlines Flight 967Nov 16 Aeroflot Flight 315Nov 21 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202Dec 1 Allegheny Airlines Flight 371Dec 4 San Diego F3H crash | |
| 1958 ◄ ► 1960 |
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