Allegheny Airlines Flight 737
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 A Convair 580 similar to the one involved | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 6, 1969 |
| Summary | Undetermined; presumably controlled flight into terrain[1] |
| Site | |
 | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Convair CV-580 |
| Operator | Allegheny Airlines |
| Registration | N5825 |
| Flight origin | Washington D.C. |
| Stopover | Harrisburg International Airport |
| Destination | Bradford Regional Airport |
| Occupants | 28 |
| Passengers | 25 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 11 |
| Injuries | 17 |
| Survivors | 17 |
Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 was a Convair CV-580 (aircraft registration N5825),[2] that crashed while attempting to land at Bradford Regional Airport in Bradford, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1969. Eleven of the 28 occupants on board were killed.
The flight was operated using a Convair CV-580 that was originally certificated as a Convair CV-440 on July 11, 1967, but was modified to include upgraded turbine engines and propellers and re-certificated as a CV-580. The aircraft had accumulated a total of 27,285 flight hours at the time of the accident.[1] The flight crew consisted of Captain William I. Blanton Jr. (33), and First Officer Ronald Lesiak (31).[1]
Flight
Flight 737 took off from Washington D.C. bound for Detroit, Michigan with intermediate stops in Harrisburg, Bradford, and Erie, Pennsylvania. The flight was uneventful until the aircraft began its approach to Bradford. Weather was overcast with one and one half miles visibility and snow showers. At ten miles from the airport, Flight 737 requested and received clearance to make its instrument approach to runway 14 instead of runway 32.[3] The flight struck treetops just under five nautical miles from the airport before coming to rest upside down on a snow-covered golf course.[4]
Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was unable to determine the probable cause of the crash. "Of the approximately 13 potential causes examined by the Board, three remained after final analysis: (1) misreading of the altimeter by the captain, (2) a malfunction of the captain’s altimeter following completion of the instrument approach procedure turn, and (3) misinterpretation of the instrument approach chart. Of these three, no single one can be accepted or rejected to the exclusion of another based on the available evidence."[1]
