Capital Airlines Flight 67

Capital Airlines Flight 67
A first responder removes debris from the wreckage of Capital Airlines Flight 67
Accident
DateApril 6, 1958
SummaryStall, loss of control
Site
Aircraft
Aircraft typeVickers Viscount
OperatorCapital Airlines
RegistrationN7437
Flight originNewark International Airport
Newark, New Jersey, United States[1]
1st stopoverWillow Run Airport,
Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States
2nd stopoverFlint-Bishop Airport,
Flint, Michigan, United States
3rd stopoverFreeland-Tri City Airport,
Freeland, Michigan, United States
4th stopoverCapital City Airport,
Lansing, Michigan, United States
5th stopoverKent County Airport,
Cascade Township, Michigan, United States
DestinationChicago Midway Airport,
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Passengers44
Crew3
Fatalities47
Survivors0

Capital Airlines Flight 67 was a domestic scheduled U.S. passenger flight operated by Capital Airlines which crashed on final approach to Freeland, Michigan, during a severe snowstorm on April 6, 1958, killing all 47 people on board. The flight was en route from Flint-Bishop Airport to the Freeland-Tri City Airport (now MBS International Airport) when it crashed.[2] Flight 67 was the first of four fatal crashes in the space of two years involving Capital Airlines Vickers Viscounts;[3] the others were Flight 300 (May 1958),[4] Flight 75 (May 1959), and Flight 20 (January 1960).

Accident

Approach conditions towards Tri-City Airport, Freeland, Michigan were poor due to the weather; there was restricted visibility, and conditions were ripe for icing. The plane while descending below the 900 foot overcast suddenly pitched over and impacted the ground. The point of impact was 2,322 feet from the end of runway 5. The "entire wreckage was confined in an area almost equal to the length and span of the aircraft."[5] Witnesses stated that aircraft rolled out of the base leg of the approach on to final approach and was level for from four to six seconds before it pitched over and crashed.[6]

Investigation

The probable cause of the crash was "The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an undetected accretion of ice on the horizontal stabilized which, in conjunction with a specific airspeed and aircraft configuration, caussed a loss of pitch control. [7]

A memorial to the victims was unveiled in a local cemetery between 2006 and 2007.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Andrick, Floyd The crash of Flight 67 was 60 years ago, Midland Daily News, April 6, 2018, retrieved 2024-03-18
  2. ↑ "Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Report, Docket no. SA-331, File no. 1-0031 Revised*". 1965. Retrieved July 18, 2026. – PDF
  3. ↑ Capital Airlines accidents and incidents
  4. ↑ "Accident description for Capital Airlines Flight 300". Aviation Safety Network.
  5. ↑ CAB Accident Report REVISED* SA-331, File No. 1=00, February 11, 1965, pg 3
  6. ↑ CAB Accident Report REVISED* SA-331, File No. 1=00, February 11, 1965, pg 6
  7. ↑ | url = https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/1958/19580406_VISC_N7437.pdfhttp://blog.mlive.com/saginawnews/2008/04/michigans_thirdworst_plane_cra.html | title = Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Report Revised Capital Airlines, Inc., Viscount, Tri-City Airport Freeland, Michigan | date = February 11, 1965 | accessdate = Winger, Doug (March 24, 2008). "47 perish: Easter Sunday plane crash at Tri-City Airport remembered 50 years later". Midland Daily News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ↑ Henson, Stacey (April 6, 2008). "Crash of Capital Airlines Flight 67 lingers like contrails in the mind of an Essexville, Michigan, author and plane enthusiast". Saginaw news archives, mlive.com.
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