West Coast Airlines Flight 720

West Coast Airlines Flight 720

Sister aircraft N2701 in 1967
Accident
Date	March 10, 1967
Summary	Icing accident
Site	Stukel Mountain Klamath County, Oregon, U.S. near Klamath Falls Airport 42°07′15″N 121°39′14″W / 42.12083°N 121.65389°W / 42.12083; -121.65389Coordinates: 42°07′15″N 121°39′14″W / 42.12083°N 121.65389°W / 42.12083; -121.65389
Aircraft type	Fairchild F-27
Operator	West Coast Airlines
Registration	N2712
Flight origin	Klamath Falls Airport Klamath Falls, Oregon
1st stopover	Medford Airport Medford, Oregon
2nd stopover	Eugene Airport Eugene, Oregon
Last stopover	Portland International Airport Portland, Oregon
Destination	Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
Passengers	1
Crew	3
Fatalities	4
Injuries	0
Survivors	0

Location in the United States

Location in Oregon

West Coast Airlines Flight 720 was a scheduled passenger flight in the northwest United States from Klamath Falls, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, with intermediate stops at Medford, Eugene, and Portland, Oregon. On March 10, 1967, it crashed shortly after takeoff from Klamath Falls, killing all four aboard, three crew members and one passenger.^[1][2][3]

Synopsis[]

West Coast Airlines Flight 720 was operated on Friday, March 10, 1967, by one of the company's Fairchild F-27 aircraft, registered N2712, built in 1960. On the morning of the flight, the aircraft was parked in West Coast's hangar at Klamath Falls Airport for routine maintenance.^[4] Due to the falling snow that morning, instead of loading at the terminal, as was standard procedure, the aircraft was loaded in the hangar with the passenger and crew members. Both pilots did a pre-flight check of the plane, and reported nothing unusual.

Once boarding was completed at 4:46 AM PST, the plane was pushed out of the hangar as snow, mixed with rain, was falling.^[4] During push back from the hangar, the tractor tug was observed to have gotten stuck in the snow, and ground personnel spent eleven minutes freeing it, during which time the airplane was exposed to the weather. No attempt was made to clear the wings or control surfaces of snow. Once freed from the snow, the aircraft taxied to Runway 14 and was given takeoff clearance at 4:57 AM. The elevation of the airport is approximately 4,100 feet (1,250 m) above sea level.

The aircraft took off at 5:01 AM, and at 5:02:43 the flight contacted the tower to check if they were on radar. This was the last communication from the aircraft. The controller reported to Flight 720 that they were on radar. The controller witnessed a target on his screen drift to the left of the runway centerline and head towards Stukel Mountain, six miles (10 km) southeast of the airport. At 5:02:49, the flight impacted the mountain's northwest slope at an approximate elevation of 5,050 feet (1,540 m), less than halfway to its 6,526-foot (1,989 m) summit.^[4]

The following year, West Coast merged with Pacific Air Lines and Bonanza Air Lines to form Air West, which became Hughes Airwest in 1970.

Cause and investigation[]

At 5:09 AM, a report came into the tower that an aircraft had crashed on Stukel Mountain. It was observed that the runway tracks were in heavy snow, and the plane swerved to the left on the runway before becoming airborne. By takeoff, the left gear was twelve feet (3.7 m) off the runway.^[4]

Several witnesses in the vicinity saw the airplane flying low, followed by seeing or hearing a large explosion. All reported snow at the time of the crash.^[5]

The aircraft was equipped with a flight data recorder (FDR), although damaged in the crash, the recording medium was able to be read. The aircraft was reported to have climbed for approximately one minute after takeoff. Throughout the flight, the aircraft was recorded to have continued a turn to the left of the assigned heading. Shortly before impact, the aircraft began a sharp turn to the left, towards the mountain, at heading of 042 degrees.

The aircraft was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which, although damaged, was able to be read. The crew reported a loss of control before impact, along with a report of not being able to see the mountain. An expletive was uttered right before impact.^[4]

The aircraft was observed to have been accumulating ice and snow on its control surfaces prior to takeoff and when moved out of the hangar. No action was taken by the crew to have the aircraft de-iced, and it was believed by the investigation that this was responsible for the accident.^[6] Due to the crew's short turnaround schedule, fatigue was suggested as a contributing factor in the accident.

References[]