American Flyers Flight 280

American Flyers Flight 280 was a flight operated on a U.S. Military Air Command contract from Monterey Regional Airport in California to Columbus Airport in Georgia, via Ardmore Municipal Airport, Oklahoma. On April 22, 1966, while approaching Runway 8 at Ardmore, the aircraft overshot the runway and crashed into a hill, bursting into flames.[2] Eighty-three of the 98 passengers and crew on board died as a result of the accident.[3]

American Flyers Flight 280
An American Flyers L-188 at Lindbergh Field (1963)
Accident
DateApril 22, 1966
SummaryPilot incapacitation
Site2.4 km northeast of Ardmore Municipal Airport, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed L-188C Electra
OperatorAmerican Flyers Airline
RegistrationN183H[1]
Flight originMonterey Regional Airport, United States
DestinationArdmore Municipal Airport, United States
Occupants98
Passengers93
Crew5
Fatalities83
Injuries15
Survivors15

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Lockheed L-188 Electra four-engined turboprop airline registered as N183H.[4] It had first flown in January 1961 and was bought by American Flyers Airline in January 1963.[5] It is the same plane that carried the Beatles from city to city during their second tour of the U.S.[6]

Investigation

The U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigated the accident.[1]:1[7]

Investigators found no evidence of mechanical failure or defect. Some days after the crash, it was learned that the pilot, Reed Pigman, who also happened to be the president of American Flyers, was under care for arteriosclerosis.[8] An autopsy of Pigman determined his cause of death to either be multiple injuries or coronary artery sclerosis.[9]

It was also determined that Reed Pigman had falsified his application for a first-class medical certificate. He had not disclosed that he was diabetic or that he had a history of heart issues dating back almost two decades; either of these would have been disqualifying factors for the certificate.[10]

On March 28, 1967, the CAB published its final report. The CAB determined that the probable cause for the accident was:

[T]he incapacitation, due to a coronary insufficiency, of the pilot-in-command at a critical point during visual, circling approach being conducted under instrument flight conditions.[1]:1

References
  1. "Aircraft Accident Report, American Flyers Airline Corporation L-188C, N183H, Near Ardmore Municipal Airport, Ardmore, Oklahoma, April 22, 1966" (PDF). Civil Aeronautics Board. March 28, 1967. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. "Investigators Seek Cause of Air Crash Fatal to 81" (102.) (City ed.). Eugene, Oregon: Eugene Register-Guard. 23 April 1966. p. 1A. Retrieved 23 November 2020 – via Associated Press. The plane was on a cross-country flight from Fort Ord, Calif., to Fort Benning, Ga., and its 92 passengers were Army recruits who had recently completed basic training.
  3. "Crash of a Lockheed L-188C Electra in Ardmore: 83 killed | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  4. "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-188C Electra N183H Ardmore Municipal Airport, OK (ADM)". Aviation-safety.net. 1966-04-22. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  5. Eastwood, Tony (1990). Turbo Prop Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-907178-32-3.
  6. http://marshfieldmail.com/news/the-beatles-and-a-man-named-pigman/article_7bafaa8c-7d2c-11e3-ac8e-0019bb2963f4.html
  7. [email protected], Paul Johns. "The Beatles and a man named Pigman". MarshfieldMail.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  8. "Pilot involved in fatal crash had ailment." United Press International at The Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina). Saturday May 14, 1966. Volume 91, No. 115. Page 1. Retrieved from Google Books (1 of 6) on December 22, 2012.
  9. "Autopsy rates heart ailment as advanced." United Press International at The Altus Times-Democrat. Thursday May 26, 1966. Volume 40, No. 101. Page 1. Retrieved from Google Books (1 of 14) on December 22, 2012.
  10. Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 70.

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