Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293
Accident
Flight 293 was chartered by the Military Air Transport Service of the United States Air Force to carry 95 servicemen and their families from McChord Air Force Base in Washington state to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. The DC-7 departed McChord at 07:52 Pacific Standard Time. The last radio contact with the plane was at 10:06, when the crew requested a change of flight level. When nothing more had been heard for more than an hour, a search for the aircraft was begun at 11:16. It was not until 19:22 that floating debris was seen 182.5 miles (293.7 km) WSW of Annette Island, Alaska.
Approximately 1,500 pounds of wreckage was recovered, including life vests still encased in their plastic containers and extremely deformed seat frames. None of the bodies of the crew or passengers were ever recovered.
Investigation
With the wreckage under 8,000 feet of water, the Accident Review Board concluded that "because of a lack of evidence, the Board is unable to determine the probable cause of the accident."
References
Notes
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit – Irene Cox v Northwest Airlines, Inc". openjurist.org. 1967. p. 893. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Aircraft Accident Report – Civil Aeronautics Board
- ^ "Cause Unknown: What brought down these five airplanes?", by Lester A. Reingold, Air & Space magazine (September 2010)