TWA Flight 5787

TWA Flight 5787
	TWA Boeing 707-331C N788TW, sister-ship to the accident aircraft, at LAX on August 16, 1964
Accident
Date	July 26, 1969
Summary	Loss of control due to hydraulic failure during simulated three-engine landing
Site	Atlantic City International Airport, NJ (ACY/KACY) ; 39°27′14″N 74°34′18.18″W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 707-331C
Operator	Trans World Airlines
Registration	N787TW
Flight origin	John F. Kennedy Airport, Queens, NY (JFK/KJFK)
Stopover	Atlantic City Airport, Pomona, NJ (ACY/KACY)
Destination	John F. Kennedy Airport, Queens, NY (JFK/KJFK)
Passengers	0
Crew	5
Fatalities	5
Survivors	0

Trans World Airlines Flight 5787 was an unscheduled training flight of a Boeing 707 from Atlantic City Airport in Pomona, New Jersey in 1969. The flight was planned as a proficiency check, testing crew response to a simulated single-engine failure during takeoff and landing. Because of a fatigue failure of a hydraulic pipe, hydraulic power was lost while flying at low speed on three engines, resulting in loss of control and a crash killing all on board.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-331C (registration number N787TW), first flown in 1964. The aircraft had 17,590 flight hours at the time of the accident.[1][2]^: 8

The crew, and sole occupants, were instructor-pilot Captain Donald Sklarin (38), Captain Harry D. Gaines (56), Second Officer Frank J. Jonke (29), and two additional line Captains undergoing training .[2]^: 7–8

Accident

On July 26, 1969, Trans World Airlines (TWA) aircraft N787TW arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport at the end of a scheduled cargo flight. The aircraft was then released for non-revenue training use as Flight 5787, providing recurrent training and proficiency checks for three TWA line captains. Flight 5787 originated at JFK, and was planned to proceed to the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) at Atlantic City Airport to perform the required training and proficiency check maneuvers.[2]^: 1

After take-off from JFK, Flight 5787 proceeded to Atlantic City Airport without incident. On arrival, the aircraft landed on runway 13 with the first check-ride Captain Gaines at the controls, in the left-hand seat. The crew requested a 180° turnaround and an immediate take-off on runway 31, which was granted. The proficiency checker briefed the take-off as a simulated engine failure after V₁. The take-off was carried out and the No. 4 power lever was retarded to the simulated failure idle position. The pilots climbed to 1,500 ft (457 m) and vectored to intercept the ILS course at the outer marker. The tower granted Flight 5787 permission to either land, make a touch-and-go landing, or make a low approach of the runway at its discretion.[1][2]^: 4

The proficiency checker briefed the check pilot to carry out a three-engine ILS approach and expect a three engine go-around at the decision height. The proficiency checker called for the go-around at the decision height, and the check captain complied, applying full power on engine nos. 1, 2, and 3, leaving engine no. 4 at idle, then calling for flaps 25 and landing gear up. However, neither the flaps nor landing gear moved from their previous positions.[2]^: 4 Approximately 16 to 18 seconds after the call for go-around, one of the observing crew commented that all hydraulic power had been lost. In accordance with the current operating procedures, the hydraulic pumps were disengaged. The crew did not call for or follow the hydraulic fluid loss checklist.[2]^: 5

With low airspeed, 3 engines, and no hydraulics to power the rudder actuator, directional control was lost. The aircraft rolled and pitched down, impacting the ground in a right wing low nose down attitude. All five crew were killed.[1][2]^: 5–6

Causes

The cause of the accident was found to be poor procedures for simulating engine failures and failure to apply the correct procedure for hydraulic failure, as well as loss of hydraulic power to the rudder in a critical flight condition. The loss of hydraulic power was found to be due to a fatigue failure in the left outboard spoiler actuator downline, dumping hydraulic fluid from the aircraft's utility hydraulic system overboard. With no power to the rudder actuator, at low speed, undercarriage down, full flaps and only three engines, the aircraft was not capable of recovery and the crash was inevitable.[1][2]

Consequences

Procedures for hydraulic failure and simulating engine failures were reviewed and amended as deemed necessary.

References

"TW5787". ASN. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
"Trans World Airlines, Inc., Boeing 707-331C, N787TW, National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center, Atlantic city Airport, Pomona, New Jersey, July 26, 1969" (PDF). ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. March 25, 1970. File No.1-0017. Retrieved January 18, 2020. - Alternate link at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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[ASN-1] "TW5787". ASN. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[NTSB-2] "Trans World Airlines, Inc., Boeing 707-331C, N787TW, National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center, Atlantic city Airport, Pomona, New Jersey, July 26, 1969" (PDF). ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. March 25, 1970. File No.1-0017. Retrieved January 18, 2020. - Alternate link at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s
1960	National Airlines Flight 2511 Capital Airlines Flight 20 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 World Airways Flight 830 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Cal Poly football team New York mid-air collision
1961	Goldsboro B-52 American Airlines Flight 1502 Yuba City B-52 United Air Lines Flight 859 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 TWA Flight 529 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 Continental Airlines Flight 11 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 United Air Lines Flight 297 Eastern Air Lines Flight 512
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Camden PA-24 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 Pan Am Flight 214
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Paradise Airlines Flight 901A Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 United Air Lines Flight 823 Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 Flying Tiger Line Flight 282
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 Pan Am Flight 843 Continental Airlines Flight 12 Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 United Air Lines Flight 389 American Airlines Flight 383 United Air Lines Flight 227 Carmel mid-air (Eastern 853, TWA 42)
1966	NASA T-38 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D Braniff International Airways Flight 250 West Coast Airlines Flight 956
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 TWA Flight 553 West Coast Airlines Flight 720 Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 TWA Flight 159 X-15 Flight 3-65-97 TWA Flight 128
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 Braniff International Airways Flight 352 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Northeast Airlines Flight 946 Japan Air Lines Flight 2 Pan Am Flight 281 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 Pan Am Flight 799 North Central Airlines Flight 458 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 United Air Lines Flight 266 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Prinair Flight 277 Delta Air Lines Flight 821 TWA Flight 5787 Newton Cessna 172 crash Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411
This list is incomplete.