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Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1970 aviation accident in Alaska, US / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 was a chartered McDonnell Douglas DC-8 Military Airlift Command (MAC) contract flight operated by Capitol Air (then known as Capitol International Airways) from McChord Field in Tacoma to Cam Ranh Bay in Southern Vietnam via stopovers at Anchorage and at Yokota Air Base in Japan. The aircraft crashed after a botched take-off attempt from Runway 6R at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on November 27, 1970. Of the 229 people aboard the jet, 47 perished due to the post-crash fire with 49 people injured.[2]
![]() A Capitol McDonnell Douglas DC-8, similar to that involved in the accident | |
Occurrence | |
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Date | November 27, 1970 |
Summary | Runway overrun due to an unintended landing gear brake deployment resulting in weaker acceleration[1] |
Site | Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska 61°10′4.4″N 149°56′12.6″W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF |
Operator | Capitol International Airways |
Registration | N4909C |
Flight origin | McChord Field, Tacoma, United States of America |
1st stopover | Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, United States of America |
Last stopover | Yokota Air Base, Western Tokyo, Japan |
Destination | Cam Ranh Bay, Southern Vietnam |
Occupants | 229 |
Passengers | 219 |
Crew | 10 |
Fatalities | 47 (46 passengers and 1 crew member) |
Injuries | 49 (43 passengers and 6 crew members) |
Survivors | 182 |
The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the accident. It released its final report on March 29, 1972, and concluded that the probable cause of the accident was the unintended deployment of the brakes on the landing gear which reduced the acceleration of the aircraft preventing rotation. The cause of the brake deployment was disputed, either due to a faulty brake hydraulic system or an inadvertently engaged parking brake.[1]