1995 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident

Fatal United States Air Force plane crash in Anchorage, Alaska

United States Air Force Flight 27
Accident

Date	September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22)
Summary	Bird strike on takeoff
Site	Near Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, United States 61°15′57″N 149°45′39″W / 61.26583°N 149.76083°W / 61.26583; -149.76083
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing E-3B Sentry
Operator	United States Air Force
Call sign	YUKLA 27
Registration	77-0354
Flight origin	Elmendorf Air Force Base
Crew	24
Fatalities	24
Survivors	0

The Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident was the September 22, 1995 crash of a United States Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft with the loss of all 24 crewmembers on board. The aircraft, serial number 77-0354 with callsign Yukla 27, hit birds on departure from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, United States. With the loss of thrust from both of the left engines, the aircraft crashed into a wooded area less than a mile from the end of the runway.

Accident

The Sentry was being operated by the 962d Airborne Air Control Squadron and was scheduled for a training sortie with the callsign Yukla 27. The aircraft was to depart from runway 06 and was waiting while a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft took off ahead of it. With its crew unaware that the Hercules had disturbed a flock of Canada geese, the Sentry lined up and started its departure roll. As the E-3 rotated, it ingested multiple birds into its number 1 and 2 engines. The crew started to dump fuel and initiated a turn to the left to return to the airfield, but with a full fuel load and having lost two engines on the same wing, it was unable to maintain altitude. After the aircraft reached 250 feet it descended and crashed into a hilly, wooded area, and exploded.

Investigation

The investigation concluded that the probable cause was the ingestion of Canada geese into the number 1 and 2 engines. Other factors included the insufficient efforts of the air base to deter the birds, and the failure of the air traffic control tower to report to both the Sentry and the airfield management that birds were present on the airfield.

The sequence of events during impact was also determined. The aircraft struck the ground nose first and slid to the top of a hill, where the empennage (tail section) broke off. "As the cleared the second hill, it rolled over. The fuselage broke up as the rolled. The outboard right wing impacted on the left side of the wreckage, the right-hand wing broke off and the rotodome section impacted on its back, breaking up the rest of the aircraft."

Investigators reviewed the flight and wreckage path of the accident aircraft. "The lifted off and flew approximately before contacting trees," the report said. "The then flew approximately before making contact with the ground and crashing in a fireball."

Aircraft

The Boeing E-3 Sentry serial number 77-0354 was built as an E-3A variant with the Boeing construction number 21554 and line number 933. It first flew on July 5, 1978 and was delivered to the United States Air Force on January 19, 1979. It was later modified by Boeing to E-3B standard.

This aircraft was used on the first day of the Desert Storm air war, with its crew controlling the intercept and shootdown of four Iraqi fighter aircraft in far western Iraq.

References

Notes

^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
^ Pither 1998, pp. 403-404
^ "Military Boeing 707 Strikes Birds After Liftoff;Damage to Engines No. 1 and No. 2 Results in Loss of Power and Impact with Terrain" (PDF). flightsafety.org. Retrieved 15 January 2015.

Sources

Pither, Tony (1998). The Boeing 707 720 and C-135. England: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-236-X.

External links

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 (1995)
Jan 11 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256Jan 19 Bristow Helicopters Flight 56CJan 30 TransAsia Airways Flight 510AFeb 10 Borodianka mid-air collisionFeb 16 Air Transport International Flight 782Mar 31 TAROM Flight 371May 16 Royal Air Force Nimrod R1 XW666May 24 Knight Air Flight 816Jun 9 Ansett New Zealand Flight 703Jun 21 All Nippon Airways Flight 857Jun 24 Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crashAug 3 Airstan incidentAug 9 Aviateca Flight 901Aug 21 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529Sep 2 Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 XV239Sep 15 Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133Sep 19 Kish Air Flight 707Sep 21 MIAT Flight 557Sep 22 Alaska E-3 Sentry accidentNov 12 American Airlines Flight 1572Nov 13 Nigeria Airways Flight 357Dec 3 Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701Dec 5 Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56Dec 7 Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949Dec 7 Air St. Martin Beech 1900 crashDec 13 Banat Air Flight 166Dec 18 Trans Service Airlift L-188 crashDec 20 Tower Air Flight 41Dec 20 American Airlines Flight 965
1994 ◄ ► 1996

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 (1995)

Jan 11 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256Jan 19 Bristow Helicopters Flight 56CJan 30 TransAsia Airways Flight 510AFeb 10 Borodianka mid-air collisionFeb 16 Air Transport International Flight 782Mar 31 TAROM Flight 371May 16 Royal Air Force Nimrod R1 XW666May 24 Knight Air Flight 816Jun 9 Ansett New Zealand Flight 703Jun 21 All Nippon Airways Flight 857Jun 24 Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crashAug 3 Airstan incidentAug 9 Aviateca Flight 901Aug 21 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529Sep 2 Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 XV239Sep 15 Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133Sep 19 Kish Air Flight 707Sep 21 MIAT Flight 557Sep 22 Alaska E-3 Sentry accidentNov 12 American Airlines Flight 1572Nov 13 Nigeria Airways Flight 357Dec 3 Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701Dec 5 Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56Dec 7 Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949Dec 7 Air St. Martin Beech 1900 crashDec 13 Banat Air Flight 166Dec 18 Trans Service Airlift L-188 crashDec 20 Tower Air Flight 41Dec 20 American Airlines Flight 965

1994 ◄ ► 1996

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1990s
1990	Northwest Airlines Flight 5 (January 4 1990) Avianca Flight 052 (January 25 1990) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254 (April 1990) Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan (August 1990) Wayne County Airport runway collision (December 1990)
1991	Los Angeles Airport runway collision (February 1 1991) Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (February 17 1991) United Airlines Flight 585 (March 1991) Merion air disaster (April 4 1991) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 (April 5 1991) L'Express Airlines Flight 508 (July 1991) Continental Express Flight 2574 (September 1991) Vallejo helicopter crash (October 1991)
1992	CommutAir Flight 4821 (January 1992) Air Transport International Flight 805 (February 1992) USAir Flight 405 (March 1992) American Eagle Flight 5456 (June 7 1992)* GP Express Airlines Flight 861 (June 8 1992) TWA Flight 843 (July 1992)
1993	Lufthansa Flight 592 (February 1993) Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46E (March 1993) Alan Kulwicki plane crash (April 1 1993) China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 (April 6 1993) American Airlines Flight 102 (April 14 1993) American International Airways Flight 808 (August 1993)* Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 (December 1993)
1994	United Express Flight 6291 (January 1994) Green Ramp disaster (March 1994) Federal Express Flight 705 (April 1994) Fairchild Air Force Base B-52 crash (June 1994) USAir Flight 1016 (July 1994) USAir Flight 427 (September 1994) American Eagle Flight 4184 (October 1994) TWA Flight 427 (November 1994) Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 (December 1994)
1995	Air Transport International Flight 782 (February 1995) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 (August 1995) Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident (September 1995) American Airlines Flight 1572 (November 1995) Tower Air Flight 41 (December 1995)
1996	ValuJet Flight 592 (May 1996) Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 (June 1996) Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (July 6 1996) TWA Flight 800 (July 17 1996) FedEx Express Flight 1406 (September 1996) Quincy Airport disaster (November 1996) Airborne Express Flight 827 (December 22 1996) New Hampshire Learjet crash (December 24 1996)
1997	Comair Flight 3272 (January 1997) FedEx Express Flight 14 (July 1997) Korean Air Flight 801 (August 6 1997)* Fine Air Flight 101 (August 7 1997) John Denver (October 1997)
1998	United Airlines Flight 863 (June 1998)
1999	American Airlines Flight 1420 (June 1999) Martha's Vineyard plane crash (July 1999) South Dakota Learjet crash (October 1999)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in either a U.S. territory or Guantanamo Bay. 1980–1989 ◄ 1990–1999 ► 2000–2009

Categories:

Misplaced Pages