On 11 February 1978, Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashed at Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport, near Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, killing 43 of the 49 people on board.[1]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
 A Pacific Western Boeing 737-200 similar to the one involved in the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 11 February 1978 |
| Summary | Runway incursion caused by pilot error and ATC error, thrust reverser deployment during go-around |
| Site | Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport, Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada 49.6114°N 115.78225°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-275 |
| Operator | Pacific Western Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | PW314 |
| ICAO flight No. | PWA314 |
| Call sign | PACIFIC WESTERN 314 |
| Registration | C-FPWC |
| Flight origin | Fort McMurray International Airport |
| 1st stopover | Edmonton International Airport |
| 2nd stopover | Calgary International Airport |
| Last stopover | Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport |
| Destination | Castlegar Airport |
| Occupants | 49 |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 43 |
| Injuries | 5 |
| Survivors | 6 |
The scheduled flight from Fort McMurray International Airport to Castlegar Airport via Edmonton, Alberta, Calgary, Alberta and Cranbrook, British Columbia crashed after its thrust reversers did not fully stow following an aborted landing to avoid a snowplow on the runway. Calgary air traffic control was in major error in its calculation of the flight's arrival time at Cranbrook, and the flight crew did not report while passing a beacon on final approach.[2][3]
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-275 that was nearly eight years old at the time of the accident. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A turbofan engines.[4][5]
The pilot-in-command (Captain) was 30 years of age and had been flying for eleven years. He held an Airline Transport licence valid until July, 1978 with no limitations. The licence was endorsed for Convair 640, Lockheed 382 and Boeing 737. The Captain had flown a line check on 14 April 1977, a simulator check on 26 September 1977 and a pilot proficiency check on 14 December, 1977. He had a total of 5173 hrs, of which 2780 were flown on the Hoeing 737. The day prior to the accident flight was a day of rest and he had been on duty for 8 hours at the time of the accident.[6]
The first officer was 25 years of age and had been flying for five years. He held a Senior Commercial Licence valid until November, 1978 with no limitations. The licence was endorsed for Lockheed 382 and Boeing 737. He held a Class I Instrument Rating, valid to January 1979. The first officer had completed the company training programme in December, 1977 and had accomplished the required checks at that time. He had flown 1316 hrs of which 81 were on the Boeing 737. The day prior to the accident flight was a day of rest and he had been on duty for 8 hrs at the time of the accident. [7]
The flight attendants, Gail Bunn, Patty Wong, and Cindy Wolff,[8][9] had been with the company approximately three years, and had received the company Flight Attendants course. Recurrency training including emergency procedures had been provided in accordance with company policies.[10]
The aeradio operator on duty at Cranbrook was qualified for his position and had been employed in this capacity for 5 years. Prior to this employment, he had been a military Air Traffic Controller for about 20 years. [11]
The air traffic controllers in Calgary who were involved with the control of Flight 314 were properly licensed and experienced.[12]
The runway maintenance equipment operator Terry George [13] was qualified and had been employed in this position for five years.[14]
Accident
Flight 314 departed Calgary at 12:32 on an estimated 23-minute flight to Cranbrook. This estimate was passed to Cranbrook by Calgary Air Traffic Control.[15] Cranbrook was not a controlled airport, and while it had an "aero-radio" station to provide weather and advisory information to aircraft, it had no control tower or air traffic controllers. As it was snowing, equipment operator Terry George was sent out to clear the runway with a snowplow, to be called off the runway shortly before Flight 314's arrival.[15] At 1242 Flight 314 called Calgary and requested and received descent clearance; it was also given clearance for the approach to Cranbrook. At 1244, the flight called out of 18000 feet in the descent, and Calgary ATC advised the flight to contact Aeradio. At 1245, Flight 314 made initial contact with Cranbrook Aeradio and at 1246 Cranbrook passed the latest weather, altimeter and runway information. At 1247 Cranbrook Aeradio advised the flight that snow removal was in progress and gave the latest visibility "And three one four. The-er-sweeper on the runway-er- has been for some time trying to keep the snow back for you. I'll let you know what it's like as soon as I get a progress from him. And the visibility - not much change in the weather - maybe visibility about three quarters of a mile in snow." Flight 314 acknowledged. No further transmissions were received from the flight by Aeradio or ATC. Evidence indicates the aircraft passed the Skookum beacon inbound on a straight-in instrument approach, and flew the ILS for runway 16 to touchdown.'
According to witnesses and estimates partially derived from flight data recorder information, the aircraft touched down at 1255 approximately 800 feet from the threshold and reverse thrust was selected. Reverse thrust was cancelled immediately after touchdown and a go-around was initiated. The aircraft became airborne prior to the 2000 foot mark, and flew down the runway at a height of 50 to 70 feet, flying over a snow removal vehicle which was still on the runway, 2050 feet from the threshold and 20 feet from the right edge. About this time the left engine thrust reverser doors deployed. A few seconds later, the flap was selected up from 40' to 15'. The landing gear remained down and locked. Six seconds before impact and just over 4,000 feet from the runway threshold, the flight recorder data indicates that a large amount of left rudder was momentarily applied. The aircraft climbed to 300 to 400 feet above the airfield, banked steeply to the left, lost height and side-slipped into the ground to the left of the runway. Fire broke out on impact.[16]
Investigation
The crash investigation was conducted by the Aviation Safety Investigation Division of Transport Canada and audited by the Aircraft Accident Review Board. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was destroyed by the fire but the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) was useable although some parameters were unreadable.[15] Boeing simulations showed that the aircraft was controllable with one engine at idle reverse and the other at full forward thrust in a gear up, flaps 15° configuration. With flaps 25 and gear down, it was not possible to maintain level flight. The go-around would have been successful if the left engine thrust reverser doors had not been deployed.[15]: 36
In popular culture
The events of the crash featured in an episode of the History channel documentary Disasters of the Century, entitled "Collision Course".[17]
See also
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
