1959 Pan Am Douglas DC-6 crash

1959 aviation accident in Ireland 1959 Pan Am Douglas DC-6 crash N5026K Aircraft.jpg N5026K, the aircraft involved in the accident Accident 1959 06 22 Propeller failure, engine separation Shannon Airport, Ireland 52 42 57.86 N 8 53 55.3 W scale:12500_type:event inline,title Douglas DC-6B Clipper Panama Pan American World Airways N5026K Frankfurt Heathrow Airport Shannon Airport New York City 2 6 0 8 On June 22, 1959, a Pan Am cargo flight went from Frankfurt to New York City via London Heathrow and Shannon. It caught fire on takeoff from Shannon and was destroyed. All six flight crew and two passengers survived. Description Pan American Airways Douglas DC-6B registered N5026K, named Clipper PanamaNames of Pan Am Clippers The Pan Am Historical Foundation 2015 http://www.panam.org/images/HistoryResourcesMuseumLinks/Pan-Am-Clipper-Manufacturer.pdf 8 September 2017 was delivered on 28 May 1954. In 1958 it spent some time on lease to National Airlines but was returned to Pan Am.Pan American Airways - Fleet List and Airframe Histories - The Douglas Prop Fleet Databases Logbook Magazine 18 August 2015 http://www.logbookmag.com/databases/articles.asp?ID=93&CatID=47 31 August 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170601051914/http://www.logbookmag.com/databases/articles.asp?ID=93&CatID=47 1 June 2017 On 22 June 1959, under charter, Clipper Panama departed Frankfurt for New York with intermediate stops at Heathrow Airport and Shannon Airport. Captain Robert Realm and First Officer Henry R. Hayes were onboard with a crew of four plus two passengers. Having refueled at Shannon, the plane was preparing for take off and on applying takeoff power, a loud noise was heard and the takeoff abandoned. Engine No. 4 had separated from the wing and a fire erupted, destroying the aircraft just after the crew and passengers escaped in 30 seconds via the emergency chute. Six dogs died in the cargo hold, and an airport fire engine fighting the blaze caught fire and was destroyed.Accident description aviation-safety.net 2017 https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19590622-0 31 August 2017 UPI United Press International Freight Plane Burns Awaiting Takeoff The Panama American 23 June 1959 http://www.ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00010883/02955/3x 31 August 2017 1 September 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170901024353/http://www.ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00010883/02955/3x dead According to the Dublin Evening Herald, cargo and some mail were destroyed in the resulting fire but it is unclear where the mail had been loaded.Vogt Ronny Irish Crash Airmails Irish Airmail Society 1997 Bray 218 Cause of the accident The No. 4 engine suffered a fatigue failure of its No. 1 propeller blade. According to lab results, the blade had previously been bent which resulted "in the disruption of the compressive stresses in the shot peened area of the propeller blade" being the probable cause because the unbalanced loads on the engine mounts resulted in the separation of the entire engine. References External links Category:1959 in Ireland Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-6 Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Ireland Panama Category:April 1959 in Europe Category:1950s disasters in Ireland