Eastern Air Lines Flight 66

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66

File:Boeing 727-225-Adv, Eastern Air Lines AN0200757.jpg A Boeing 727 of Eastern Air Lines, similar to the aircraft which crashed
Accident summary
Date	June 24, 1975
Summary	Microburst-induced wind shear
Site	Jamaica, New York, United States
Passengers	116
Crew	8
Injuries (non-fatal)	11
Fatalities	113
Survivors	11
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-225
Operator	Eastern Air Lines
Registration	N8845E

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, a Boeing 727-225 registered as N8845E, departed from New Orleans Moisant Field, bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 24, 1975. The aircraft carried 124 people, including 116 passengers and 8 crew.

At 4:05 p.m. EST, while on final approach to JFK's Runway 22L, the aircraft entered a microburst or wind shear environment caused by a severe thunderstorm. The aircraft continued its descent until it began striking the approach lights approximately 2,400 feet (730 m) from the threshold of Runway 22L. After the initial impact, the aircraft banked to the left and continued to strike the approach lights until it burst into flames and scattered the wreckage along Rockaway Boulevard, which runs around the perimeter of the airport. Of the 124 people on board, 106 passengers and 6 crew members died. Ten passengers and 2 flight attendants, who were seated in the rear of the aircraft, survived. One surviving passenger died 9 days later from injuries sustained in the accident.

At the time, it was the deadliest single plane crash in United States history. American Basketball Association player Wendell Ladner was among those killed in the crash. Also killed was Rt. Rev. Iveson B. Noland, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, and the wife and three of the four children of the later theatrical producer Roger Berlind, at the time still an investment banker.

As the investigation progressed, it was found that 10 minutes prior to Flight 66 crashing, a Flying Tiger Line Douglas DC-8 cargo jet landing on Runway 22L reported tremendous wind shear on the ground. The pilot warned the tower of the wind shear conditions, but other aircraft continued to land. After the DC-8, an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 landing on the same runway nearly crashed. Two more aircraft landed prior to Flight 66. According to the conversation recorded by the Cockpit Voice Recorder, the captain of Flight 66 was aware of reports of severe windshear on the final approach path (which he confirmed by radio to the Final Vector controller) but decided to continue nonetheless.

Investigation and results

The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which published its final report on March 12, 1976. In that report, the NTSB determined the following probable cause for the accident:

"The aircraft's encounter with adverse winds associated with a very strong thunderstorm located astride the ILS localizer course, which resulted in high descent rate into the non-frangible approach light towers. The flight crew's delayed recognition and correction of the high descent rate were probably associated with their reliance upon visual cues rather than on flight instrument reference. However, the adverse winds might have been too severe for a successful approach and landing even had they relied upon and responded rapidly to the indications of the flight instruments."

The NTSB also found the following contributing factor:

"Contributing to the accident was the continued use of runway 22L when it should have become evident to both air traffic control personnel and the flight crew that a severe weather hazard existed along the approach path."

This accident led to the development of the original low level windshear alert system by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in 1976 that was installed at 110 FAA towered airports between 1977 and 1987.

See also

• Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
• Air safety
• Delta Flight 191
• Pan Am Flight 759
• Iveson B. Noland