List of accidents and incidents involving the Convair CV-240 family

A restored Convair CV-240 in Western Air Lines livery, at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California

The Convair CV-240 was an American airliner produced by Convair from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement of the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. While featuring a more modern design, the 240 series was able to make some inroads as a commercial airliner and also had a long development cycle which resulted in a number of civil and military variants. Although reduced in numbers through attrition, the "Convairliners" in various forms continue to fly into the 21st century.

Accidents and incidents

Like every other major type in long service and operation, accidents and incidents have been recorded that have substantially reduced the numbers flying. The following list is typical of such a record of operational use.

Convair CV-240/CV-300/T-29/C-131

• January 22, 1952: American Airlines Flight 6780, a CV-240-0, crashed in downtown Elizabeth, New Jersey in the first fatal accident after a record 840,000 safe flying hours. All 23 occupants on board (20 passengers and 3 crew) plus 7 people on the ground were killed in the crash and ensuing fire; because of insufficient evidence, the cause was not determined.
• March 14, 1953: An Orient Airways CV-240-7 (AP-AEG) struck a mountain south of Kalahasahar, India after the pilot descended to ascertain his position in poor visibility, killing all 16 on board.^[1]
• May 25, 1953: A KLM CV-240-4 (PH-TEI, Paulus Potter) crashed on the runway at Schiphol Airport due to a loss of control; the aircraft slid off the runway, crossed a road, and ended up in a ditch. Although all 34 passengers and crew on board survived, two people on the road watching the aircraft died when it crossed the road.^[2]
• September 16, 1953: American Airlines Flight 723, a CV-240-0, struck radio towers and crashed near Albany, New York. All 28 on board were killed.
• October 14, 1953: A Sabena CV-240-12 (OO-AWQ) crashed near Kelsterbach, Germany due to a loss of engine power, killing all 44 on board in the worst-ever crash involving the CV-240.^[3]
• December 19, 1953: A Sabena CV-240-12 (OO-AWO) crashed near Kloten Airport due to pilot error, killing one of 43 on board.^[4]
• January 20, 1954: American Airlines Flight 767, a CV-240-0, crashed during takeoff from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. It suffered engine failure and landed 200 yards south of 2478 George Urban Boulevard, Depew, New York. Several injuries were reported but no deaths as the plane failed to gain altitude after the left engine failed. No fire was reported but the presence of fuel made the muddy, shallow swamp a fire hazard. The plane remained mostly intact, coming to rest against a small clump of large trees. The flight was en route to Detroit, Michigan after starting the day in Albany, New York.^[5]
• February 26, 1954: Western Air Lines Flight 34, a CV-240-1 (N8407H), crashed 19 mi ENE of Wright, Wyoming due to a loss of control caused by weather and turbulence, killing all nine on board.^[6]
• June 19, 1954: A Swissair CV-240-4 ditched in the English Channel near Folkestone due to fuel starvation; all nine on board were able to escape, but three drowned.
• March 20, 1955: American Airlines Flight 711, a CV-240-0, struck the ground during final approach in Springfield, Missouri. Of the 35 people aboard, there were 22 survivors.^[7]
• August 4, 1955: American Airlines Flight 476, a CV-240-0 (N94221), crashed near Forney AAF, Missouri due to an engine fire caused by an uncontained engine failure and resultant wing separation, killing all 30 passengers and crew on board.^[8]
• January 6, 1957: American Airlines Flight 327, a CV-240-0 (N94247), crashed near Tulsa International Airport due to crew error, killing one of 10 on board.^[9]
• July 25, 1957: Saul Brinstock, a retired North Hollywood jeweler, committed suicide by detonating a bomb in the rear lavatory of Western Airlines Flight 39. Binstock had purchased two insurance policies totaling $125,000. The plane landed safely. Only Brinstock was killed.
• May 15, 1958: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 205, a CV-240-7 (AP-AEH), crashed on climbout from Palam Airport due to pilot error, killing 21 of 38 on board and two on the ground.^[10]
• January 22, 1959: Air Jordan Flight 601, a Convair CV-240-2 (JY-ACB), crashed in a field in Wadi es Sir near Amman, Jordan, killing 10 of 15 on board.^[11]
• July 31, 1960: A Deutsche Flugdienst CV-240-4 (D-BELU) crashed short of the runway at Rimini Airport due to double engine failure, killing one of 34 on board.^[12]
• May 9, 1962: A Cruzeiro do Sul CV-240-0 (PP-CEZ) on final approach to Vitória struck a tree at a height of 40m, 1,860m short of the runway. It should have been at 150m. Of the 31 passengers and crew aboard, 28 died.^[13][14]
• December 22, 1962: A Varig Convair CV-240-2 (PP-VCQ) flying from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília via Belo Horizonte-Pampulha descended below the prescribed altitude while on final approach to Brasília, struck trees, skidded and fell to one side. One crew member died.^[15]
• January 15, 1963: A Cruzeiro do Sul CV-240-0 (PP-CEV) on approach to São Paulo-Congonhas crashed into houses in the neighborhood of Jabaquara after an engine failed. Of the 45 passengers and crew aboard, 6 died. Six persons on the ground were also killed.^[16][17]
• February 27, 1964: Fujita Airlines Flight 902, a CV-240-0, overran the runway on landing at Oita Airport and crashed in the dried-up Urakawa River, killing 20 of 42 on board.^[18]
• January 25, 1970: A CV-240-2 from the Mexican Government carrying journalists crashed into a hill, killing all but one of the 20 people on board.^[19]
• January 9, 1975: USAF T-29D (CV-240) 52-5826 operating as Flight M32 collided in mid-air with a Cessna 150H (N50430) over the Atlantic Ocean off Newport News, Virginia, killing all nine on board both aircraft.^[20]
• October 20, 1977: Six persons were killed, including three members of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd when Convair CV-300 N55VM crashed near a forest in Gillsburg, Mississippi. The probable cause of the crash was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines. The pilot, co-pilot and the band's assistant road manager were among the dead. Some 20 other passengers survived, some with terrible injuries.

Convair CV-340

• March 16, 1954: Continental Airlines Flight 46, a CV-340-35 (N90853), belly-landed in a field near Midland, Texas after takeoff due to loss of control caused by improper maintenance; all 11 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was written off.^[21]
• July 17, 1955: Braniff International Airways Flight 560, a CV-340-32 (N3422), struck a gas station sign while on final approach to Chicago Midway Airport. The aircraft then crashed through the airport boundary fence and came to rest upside down. A total of 22 of the 43 people on board died.^[22]
• October 10, 1955: A JAT Yugoslav Airlines CV-340-58 (YU-ADC) crashed on approach to Schwechat International Airport after descending too low, killing seven of 29 on board.^[23]
• December 22, 1956: A JAT Yugoslav Airlines CV-340-58 (YU-ADA) crashed on approach to Riem Airport due to excessive descent, killing three of 30 on board.^[24]
• June 24, 1960: A Real Transportes Aéreos Convair CV-340-62 (PP-YRB) crashed into Guanabara Bay. All five crew and 49 passengers were killed. The cause was undetermined.^[25][26]
• December 17, 1960: USAF C-131D Samaritan (CV-340) 55-0291 crashed due to fuel contamination shortly after take-off from Munich-Riem Airport downtown Munich, Germany killing all 20 on board as well as 32 on the ground in an accident known as the 1960 Munich Convair 340 crash.
• May 3, 1963: A Cruzeiro do Sul CV-340-59 registration PP-CDW flying from São Paulo-Congonhas to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont had to return to São Paulo after no. 2 engine caught fire. When on finals to touchdown, the aircraft nosed up 45°, stalled and struck a house. Of the 50 passengers and crew aboard, 37 died.^[27][28]
• July 8, 1968: A Saudia CV-340-68 crashed at Dhahran International Airport after repeating landing attempts due to poor visibility caused by blowing dust, killing all 11 on board.
• September 26, 1975: US Navy C-131F (CV-340) 141012 crashed on climbout from El Toro MCAS after a loss of altitude after takeoff, killing four of six on board.
• April 30, 1983: US Navy C-131F (CV-340) 141010 crashed off Jacksonville NAS after reporting an engine fire; of the 15 on board, only a passenger survived.
• March 15, 2012: A Jet One Express Convair CV-340 (N153JR) operating as a cargo flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport after reporting a "Type 2 Emergency". Both crew members died in the accident. The crash was in "Laguna La Torrecilla" Carolina, Puerto Rico.^[29]

Convair CV-440

• July 15, 1956: A CV-440-11 (HB-IMD) was being delivered to Swissair when it crashed at Shannon Airport due to pilot error, killing the four crew.
• September 18, 1957: A Real Transportes Aéreos CV-440-62 registration PP-AQE belonging to Transportes Aéreos Nacional, flying from Porto Alegre to Montevideo had an accident during touch down operations in Montevideo. While on a night landing procedure under fog, the aircraft undershot the runway by 1,030m, causing the left and middle gear to hit an earth bank bordering a highway. The right wing touched the ground and further on, the aircraft lost both propellers. The right wing then broke off. One crew member died.^[30]
• June 16, 1958: Cruzeiro do Sul, a Convair CV-440-59 registration PP-CEP flying from Florianópolis to Curitiba-Afonso Pena was on final approach procedures to land at Curitiba in bad weather when it was caught in windshears. The aircraft descended and struck the ground. Of the 27 passengers and crew aboard, 24 died.^[31][32]
• October 12, 1962: An Iberia CV440-62 (EC-ATB), c/n 443, crashed on approach to Sevilla (Spain) killing all 14 passengers and four crew on board.
• November 20, 1964: Linjeflyg Flight 267V, a Convair CV-440, crashed during an approach at Ängelholm. In instrument conditions, the crew abandoned the set procedure and began the landing too soon. The reason for this must have been that the crew allowed themselves to be misled by an arrangement of lights peculiar to the airfield with which, apart from certain information received during the approach, they were not acquainted. A total of 31 of 43 people were killed in Sweden's worst-ever air disaster.
• March 31, 1965: An Iberia CV-440-62 (EC-ATH), c/n 388, crashed 11 mi off Tangier Airport for reasons unknown, killing 48 passengers and five crew. There were four survivors.
• January 28, 1966: Lufthansa Flight 005, a CV-440-0, crashed in Bremen, Germany just beyond the runway in a go-around after an aborted landing in low visibility. All 46 passengers and crew on board lost their lives.
• February 10, 1967: A Swissair CV-440-11 (HB-IMF) struck Mount Lägern during a training flight, killing the four crew.
• March 13, 1974: A film crew for Wolper Productions filming a National Geographic history of Australopithecus at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was killed when the Sierra Pacific Airlines CV-440 (operating as Flight 802) exploded on take off from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop, California killing 36 on board including 31 Wolper crew members, although not Wolper himself. The filmed segment was recovered in the wreckage and was broadcast in the television show Primal Man. The National Transport Safety Board (US) has never been able to determine the cause of the crash.^[33]
• October 27, 1975: A Transporte Aéreo Militar (TAM) CV-440-12 (TAM-44) crashed in the Cerro Colorado mountains after failing to gain height due to overloading, killing all 67 on board in the worst-ever accident involving the Convair 440.
• May 20, 1981: An Aero Léon CV-440-11 (XA-HEK) struck Pinarete Mountain en route to Oaxaca from Puerto Escondido, killing all 24 on board.
• August 21, 1992: A Servicios Aéreos Santa Ana (SASA) CV-440-80 (CP-1961) struck Mount Chacaltaya at 15,000 feet while descending for La Paz, killing all 10 on board.
• July 12, 2004: A Dodita Air Cargo CV-440 (N4826C) ditched 34 mi off Beef Island, British Virgin Islands due to an unexplained in-flight fire, killing the pilot; the co-pilot survived.

Convair CV-580

• March 5, 1967: Lake Central Airlines Flight 527, a CV-580, crashed near Marseilles, Ohio when a runaway prop disintegrated. All 38 on board were killed.^[34]
• December 24, 1968: A total of 20 people are killed when Allegheny Airlines Flight 736, a CV-580, crashed near Bradford, Pennsylvania.
• December 27, 1968: North Central Airlines Flight 458, a CV-580, crashed into a hangar at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing 27 of the 45 people on board and killing one and injuring six people on the ground.^[35][36]
• January 6, 1969: Allegheny Airlines Flight 737, a CV-580, crashed near Bradford, Pennsylvania, killing 11 of the 27 people on board.
• June 7, 1971: Allegheny Airlines Flight 485, a CV-580 converted from a CV-340/440, crashed on approach to Tweed New Haven Airport into three beach cottages on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in East Haven, Connecticut, killing 28 of the 31 people on board. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was the captain's intentional descent below the prescribed minimum descent altitude under adverse weather conditions.^[37][38]
• June 29, 1972: North Central Airlines Flight 290, a CV-580, collided in mid-air with Air Wisconsin Flight 671, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, over Wisconsin's Lake Winnebago. Both aircraft crashed into the lake, killing all five people aboard the CV-580 and all eight aboard the DHC-6.^[39][40]
• January 9, 1983: Republic Airlines Flight 927, a CV-580-11-A, landed at Brainerd, Minnesota, right wing down, veered to the right until the right propeller struck a two to three ft snow bank. The blade separated from the engine and penetrated the cabin, killing one passenger.
• July 31, 1989: An Air Freight NZ CV-580 (ZK-FTB), crashed shortly after takeoff from Auckland Airport, New Zealand, colliding with a bank before coming to rest in the Manukau Harbour. Three crew were killed.
• September 8, 1989: Partnair Flight 394, a CV-580 (LN-PAA), crashed into the sea near Hirtshals, Denmark after the tailfin suffered severe vibration due to it being attached to the fuselage with fraudulent bolts; the vibration caused a rudder hard-over. All 55 occupants were killed in the worst-ever accident involving the Convair 580.
• October 3, 2003: An Air Freight NZ CV-580F (ZK-KFU) after severe icing caused the aircraft to stall and enter a spiral dive, crashed into the sea near Paraparaumu, New Zealand. The aircraft suffered an in-flight breakup. Both pilots were killed.
• August 13, 2004: An Air Tahoma CV-580 freighter (N586P) crashed during approach to landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Covington, Kentucky, killing the first officer. The cause of the crash was fuel starvation as a result of improper fuel cross-feed application.^[41]
• September 1, 2008: An Air Tahoma CV-580 freighter (N587X) conducting its first flight following a maintenance "C" Check, crashed in Pickaway County, Ohio, immediately after departure from Columbus's Rickenbacker International Airport. The crew had declared an in flight emergency and was attempting to return to the departure airport. Reports indicate the flight was also being used as a training flight for the first officer. All three occupants – the captain, first officer and a company pilot observer – were killed in the crash or post-crash fire. An NTSB report blamed elevator trim cables reversed during maintenance as the cause of the crash.^[42]
• July 31, 2010: Conair Aviation Flight 448 crashed while fighting a forest fire. The crash was in the Jackass Mountain region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada.^[43]

Convair CV-600

• September 27, 1973: Texas International Airlines Flight 655, a CV-600, crashed near Mena, Arkansas, killing all 11 on board in the worst-ever (and only fatal accident) involving the Convair 600.

Convair CV-640

• September 17, 1969: Pacific Western Airlines Flight 627, a CV-640, crashed near Campbell River Airport after the crew deviated from the approach procedure, killing four of 15 on board in the first fatal accident involving the Convair 640.
• February 9, 1992: A Gambcrest CV-640 (N862FW) crashed near Diouloulou, Senegal after the pilot mistook the lights of a hotel for runway lights, killing 31 of 59 on board in the worst-ever accident involving the Convair 640.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Convair CV-240.