1972 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision

Fatal aviation accident December 2024 November 2012 1972 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Accident Recovered wing of N4043B.png The left wing of Air Wisconsin Flight 671 being recovered from Lake Winnebago June 29, 1972 Mid-air collision Over Lake Winnebago, near Fox Crossing, Wisconsin, United States 44 11 00 N 88 23 10 W inline,titlehttp://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 3 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 13 0 N90858 CV340.jpg N90858, the Convair CV-580 involved in the accident, seen in 1961 Convair CV-580 North Central Airlines N90858 Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport, United States Winnebago County Airport, United States Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, United States 2 3 5 0 TAT De Havilland Canada DHC-6-200 Twin Otter Volpati-1.jpg A de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter similar to the aircraft involved in the collision de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Air Wisconsin N4043B O'Hare International Airport, United States Sheboygan County Memorial Airport, United States Outagamie County Regional Airport, United States 6 2 8 0 On June 29, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 290 collided in mid-air with Air Wisconsin Flight 671 over Lake Winnebago near Fox Crossing, Wisconsin, in the United States. Both aircraft crashed into the lake, killing all 13 people on board both aircraft.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 6 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r68oAAAAIBAJ&pg=7228,7279839 Milwaukee Journal Witnesses describe June air crash September 20, 1972 11-part 1November 2023 InternetArchiveBot yes https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-sgdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3790,6393270 Milwaukee Journal Lubenow Thomas G. Why did 2 planes collide over lake? June 30, 1972 1-part 1November 2023 InternetArchiveBot yes Flight history North Central Airlines Flight 290 North Central Airlines Flight 290 was a regularly scheduled flight which usually originated in Houghton, Michigan, and stopped at Ironwood, Michigan, and Green Bay, Oshkosh, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before terminating at Chicago, Illinois. On June 29, 1972, bad weather in northern Michigan necessitated cancellation of the Houghton-Ironwood and Ironwood-Green Bay legs, and the flight originated at Green Bay, using a replacement crew sent from Chicago to Green Bay.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 2 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 The aircraft operating the flight, a Convair CV-580 registered N90858, departed Green Bay at around 10:30 a.m. CDT, proceeding to Oshkosh under visual flight rules (VFR). At 10:36:11 a.m. CDT, the air traffic controller at Oshkosh cleared Flight 290 to land. The flight crew's acknowledgment five seconds later was the last communication with North Central Flight 290. Air Wisconsin Flight 671 Air Wisconsin Flight 671 was a regularly scheduled flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Appleton, Wisconsin, with a stopover at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport west of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Operated by a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter registered N4043B, it departed Chicago at 9:28 a.m. CDT on June 29, 1972, bound for Sheboygan under an instrument flight rules (IFR) plan; en route, the flight crew abandoned its IFR plan and completed the first leg of the flight under VFR. Flight 671 departed Sheboygan 13 minutes late, at 10:23 a.m. CDT, bound for Appleton, operating under VFR. At about 10:30 a.m. CDT, the flight crew contacted the Air Wisconsin office in Appleton, stating that they anticipated arriving at Appleton at 10:44 a.m. CDT. This was the last communication with Air Wisconsin Flight 671. Collision 44 00 00 N 88 10 00 W 8 right 250 270 11 44 11 00 N 88 24 00 W right 11 Red pog.svg 11 Location of the collision file bottom left USA location map.svg 120 63 62 16 Operating in bright sunshine beneath a scattered cloud layer, Flight 290 and Flight 671 collided at 10:36:47 a.m. CDT over Wisconsin's Lake Winnebago about 6 nmi mi km in south of Appleton and 2.5 nmi mi km east of Neenah, Wisconsin, at an altitude of about 2,500 feet (762 m). The left wing of Flight 671 hit the left wing of Flight 290. The collision resulted in an explosion which tore off most of the Twin Otter's wing, and around a quarter of the CV-580's left wing. The collision left both aircraft uncontrollable, resulting in both crashing into Lake Winnebago around 2 nmi in east of Neenah Light. The National Transportation Safety Board noted that the North Central crew would have had to look toward the sun to see the approaching Air Wisconsin planehttp://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 12 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 and concluded that they took no evasive action. Some eyewitnesses believed that the Air Wisconsin Twin Otter began a turn seconds before the collision, but the NTSB did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that the Air Wisconsin crew took evasive action.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 17 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 The rate of closure during the final five seconds before the collision was 688 ft/s mph km/h. Aircraft The North Central aircraft involved, N90858, had been completed as a Convair CV-340/440 on May 25, 1953; it had later been converted to CV-580 standard. The Air Wisconsin Twin Otter had been completed on October 6, 1966.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 24 Appendix C National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 dead Both aircraft were destroyed by the collision and subsequent water impact.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 4 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 Their wreckage was found on the lake bottom scattered over an area roughly one mile (1.6 km) long by one-half mile (0.8 km) wide. Casualties The North Central aircraft N90858 had two passengers and a crew of three (Captain James Cuzzort, First Officer Alton Laabs, and Flight Attendant Frances Rabb) on board. The Air Wisconsin aircraft N4043B was carrying six passengers and a crew of two (Captain David Jacobs and First Officer Michael Gaffin). All 13 people aboard the two aircraft died in the collision and subsequent crash, and the NTSB observed that the accident was not survivable. Investigation The National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the accident on April 25, 1973. It was "unable to determine why each crew failed to see and avoid the other aircraft," and concluded that the crash resulted from "the failure of both flight crews to detect visually the other aircraft in sufficient time to initiate evasive action," and stated that it believed "that the ability of both crews to detect the other aircraft in time to avoid a collision was reduced because of the atmospheric conditions and human visual limitations." The NTSB speculated that both flight crews could have been scanning instruments in preparation for descent to their respective destinations at the time of the collision, and this could have reduced their chances of spotting one another.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 10–12 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 The report also noted that the decision by both flight crews to fly under VFR rather than IFR and the fact that neither captain requested in-flight advisories deprived both aircraft of air traffic control support, and that such support to even one of the aircraft would have ensured sufficient separation to avoid a collision. The NTSB recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration create a standardized method for training and grading flight crews in visual search techniques and time-sharing between instrument checks and visual searches, and that the FAA expedite the development of anticollision systems.http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf April 25, 1973 NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-73-09 19 National Transportation Safety Board November 18, 2012 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121004130606/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR73-09.pdf October 4, 2012 References Notes Bibliography Aviation Safety Network: ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 N90858 Appleton, WI National Transportation Safety Board Report Number NTSB-AAR-73-09 "Aircraft Accident Report North Central Airlines, Inc., Allison Convair 340/440 (CV-580), N90858, and Air Wisconsin, Inc., DHC-6, N4043B, Near Appleton, Wisconsin, June 29, 1972," adopted April 25, 1973 Category:1972 in Wisconsin Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Convair CV-240 family Category:Air Wisconsin accidents and incidents Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in Wisconsin Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Appleton, Wisconsin Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1972 Category:June 1972 in the United States Category:Mid-air collisions in the United States Category:Mid-air collisions involving airliners Category:North Central Airlines accidents and incidents