Air Manila Flight 702 - Misplaced Pages

1976 aviation accident

Air Manila Flight 702
Accident
An Air Manila Lockheed L-188 Electra, similar to the one that crashed
Date	4 June 1976 (1976-06-04)
Summary	Engine failure followed by pilot error
Site	Southwest of Naval Air Station Agana 13°29.5′N 144°49′E / 13.4917°N 144.817°E / 13.4917; 144.817
Total fatalities	46
Total injuries	2
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-188A Electra
Operator	Air Manila
Registration	RP-C1061
Flight origin	Naval Air Station Agana
Destination	Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Occupants	45
Passengers	33
Crew	12
Fatalities	45
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	1
Ground injuries	2

Air Manila Flight 702 was an unscheduled passenger flight from Naval Air Station Agana in Guam to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, carrying 33 passengers and 12 crew members; most of whom were personnel from the base. The Lockheed L-188A Electra attempted takeoff from runway 6L but crashed near a residential area; the crash was caused by retracting the flaps at an altitude too low to clear the terrain after the propeller of engine number three feathered. All 45 people on board and one person on the ground perished in the crash. The investigation concluded that the pilot should have followed company policy by aborting takeoff in the event of an engine failure before reaching VR (takeoff) speed.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Lockheed L-188A Electra with four Allison 501-D13 engines, registered RP-C1061 to Air Manila International at the time of the accident. The aircraft made its maiden flight in 1958, then registered to Eastern Airlines as N5502. The aircraft was then sold to Air Manila on November 30, 1971. Maintenance records showed the transponder listed as "inoperable". Engine No.2 to be shut down en route to Guam due to mechanical issues; several pilots reported issues with the No.3 engine in the maintenance log before the crash.

Crew

Twelve crew members were on board flight 702 when it crashed: four members of the flight crew, the loading master, two mechanics, and four flight attendants. One of the flight attendants on board was Ms. Nelita (Nellie) Ner, age 26, of Manila, Philippines. Ms. Ner earlier flew as a flight attendant with Northwest Orient Airlines, based at MNL.

The cockpit crew consisted of:

Captain Roberto Javalera, 46, who worked for Air Manila since 16 September 1964, served as pilot in command on the flight. A veteran pilot, having logged 10,016 total flight hours, roughly 2,422:45 of which were accumulated flying Lockheed L-188A Electras. His license to operate Lockheed L-188A Electras was valid from March 1, 1976, to August 31, 1976. He was required to wear glasses for far-sightedness as needed in flight but this was not a factor in the crash.
First Officer Ernesto Nacion, 40, served as co-pilot, having worked for Air Manila since 17 April 1968. His pilot's license was valid from January, 1976, to 30 June 1976. Nacion was certified to be a reserve captain for the L-188 Electra on 10 March 1975. At the time of the accident, he had 8,906:44 total flight hours, of which 2,037:21 were on the L-188 Electra.
Flight Engineer Johnathan Javalera (no relation to the captain), 32, who worked for Air Manila since 28 February 1969.
Relief Officer Salvador Bello, 33, who worked for Air Manila since 1 February 1970.

Accident

Air Manila flight 702 crashed while attempting to takeoff from runway 6L of Naval Air Station Agana at 14:47 Greenwich time on 4 June 1976. Seconds after lifting off from the runway the No. 3 propeller feathered. Witnesses reported that the plane lifted off the runway near the 7,500 marker of the 10,015 foot runway; also noting that despite the one feathered propeller the takeoff seemed normal. After the failure the plane flew at varying altitudes between 75 and 100 feet for a while, then flew level for 1,600 feet before crashing into terrain past the end of the runway; dragging across a hill, pushing through a chain link fence, and striking a car on the highway before stopping in a vacant space before exploding. All 45 people on board plus the driver of the car struck by the aircraft were killed. Two people who lived near the crash site incurred severe injuries from the explosion.

Causes

The primary cause of the accident was the flight crew's inappropriate response to the engine failure. The captain continued flight with the engine failure despite safely being able to abort takeoff, having not yet reached VR speed. The NTSB reported the causes of the accident as:

The loss of climb capability after the crew retracted the flaps at too low an altitude to clear the rising terrain. The flaps were retracted after the number 3 propeller feathered as the aircraft lifted off the runway. Contributing to the accident was the captain's decision to continue the take-off after an engine failed before reaching the rotation speed.

References

Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-188A Electra RP-C1061 Guam-Agana NAS (NGM)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
^ "AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT AIR MANILA, INCORPORATED, LOCKHEED 1-188A REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGISTRY RP-C1061" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. September 26, 1977. NTSB/AAR-77-06. Retrieved March 22, 2017. Copy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"Registration Details For RP-C1061 (Air Manila International) L-188 Electra-A - PlaneLogger". www.planelogger.com. Retrieved 2017-03-22.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1976 (1976)
Jan 1 Middle East Airlines Flight 438Jan 3 Aeroflot Flight 2003Jan 15 Taxi Aereo el Venado Douglas DC-4 accidentFeb 9 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 6 Aeroflot Flight 909Apr 5 Alaska Airlines Flight 60Apr 26 Gubir shootdownApr 27 American Airlines Flight 625May 9 Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight 48May 15 Aeroflot Flight 1802May 23 Philippine Airlines Flight 116Jun 1 Aeroflot Flight 418Jun 4 Air Manila Flight 702Jun 6 Double Six CrashJun 27 Air France Flight 139Jul 28 ČSA Flight 001Aug 15 SAETA Flight 232Aug 23 EgyptAir Flight 321Sep 3 Venezuelan Air Force C-130 crashSep 9 Anapa mid-air collisionSep 10 Zagreb mid-air collisionSep 10 TWA Flight 355Sep 19 Turkish Airlines Flight 452Oct 6 Cubana de Aviación Flight 455Oct 12 Indian Airlines Flight 171Oct 13 LAB Boeing 707 crashNov 23 Olympic Airways Flight 830Nov 28 Aeroflot Flight 2415Dec 17 Aeroflot Flight N-36Dec 25 EgyptAir Flight 864
1975 ◄ ► 1977

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1976 (1976)

Jan 1 Middle East Airlines Flight 438Jan 3 Aeroflot Flight 2003Jan 15 Taxi Aereo el Venado Douglas DC-4 accidentFeb 9 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 6 Aeroflot Flight 909Apr 5 Alaska Airlines Flight 60Apr 26 Gubir shootdownApr 27 American Airlines Flight 625May 9 Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight 48May 15 Aeroflot Flight 1802May 23 Philippine Airlines Flight 116Jun 1 Aeroflot Flight 418Jun 4 Air Manila Flight 702Jun 6 Double Six CrashJun 27 Air France Flight 139Jul 28 ČSA Flight 001Aug 15 SAETA Flight 232Aug 23 EgyptAir Flight 321Sep 3 Venezuelan Air Force C-130 crashSep 9 Anapa mid-air collisionSep 10 Zagreb mid-air collisionSep 10 TWA Flight 355Sep 19 Turkish Airlines Flight 452Oct 6 Cubana de Aviación Flight 455Oct 12 Indian Airlines Flight 171Oct 13 LAB Boeing 707 crashNov 23 Olympic Airways Flight 830Nov 28 Aeroflot Flight 2415Dec 17 Aeroflot Flight N-36Dec 25 EgyptAir Flight 864

1975 ◄ ► 1977

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber (February 1970) Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (March 1970) ALM Flight 980 (May 1970)* Trans International Airlines Flight 863 (September 1970) Wichita State University football team plane crash (October 1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (November 14 1970) Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 (November 27 1970)
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash (January 1971) Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash (May 1971) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (June 6 1971) Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 (June 7 1971) Pan Am Flight 845 (July 1971) Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 (September 1971) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (See D. B. Cooper, November 1971)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 (March 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (May 1972) American Airlines Flight 96 (June 12 1972) Prinair Flight 191 (June 24 1972)* Lake Winnebago mid-air collision (June 29 1972) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 (July 5 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 841 (July 31 1972) Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident (September 1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (November 1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (December 10 1972) Chicago–O'Hare runway collision (December 20 1972) Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (December 29 1972) Puerto Rico DC-7 crash (December 31 1972)*
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash (February 1973) Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 (July 23 1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (July 31 1973) TWA Flight 742 (August 1973) World Airways Flight 802 (September 8 1973) Texas International Airlines Flight 655 (September 27 1973) Pan Am Flight 160 (November 3 1973) National Airlines Flight 27 (November 3 1973) Iberia Flight 933 (December 1973)
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 (January 6 1974) Pan Am Flight 806 (January 30 1974)* Delta Air Lines Flight 523 (February 1974) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (September 1974) TWA Flight 514 (December 1 1974) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231 (December 1 1974)
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 (Janaury 1975) Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (June 1975) Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 (August 1975) Overseas National Airways Flight 032 (November 1975)
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 (April 5 1976) American Airlines Flight 625 (April 27 1976)* Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) TWA Flight 355 (September 1976)
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 (January 1977) Southern Airways Flight 242 (April 4 1977) Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 (April 12 1977) Encino helicopter crash (August 1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash (October 1977) Air Indiana Flight 216 (December 13 1977) United Airlines Flight 2860 (December 18 1977) Vieques Air Link crash (December 19 1977)*
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 (March 1 1978) United Airlines Flight 696 (March 13 1978) National Airlines Flight 193 (May 1978) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 (September 25 1978) Air Caribbean Flight 309 (September 26 1978)* Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 (December 4 1978) TWA Flight 541 (December 21 1978) United Airlines Flight 173 (December 28 1978)
1979	TWA Flight 841 (April 1979) American Airlines Flight 191 (May 25 1979) Downeast Airlines Flight 46 (May 30 1979) Air New England Flight 248 (June 17 1979) American Airlines Flight 293 (June 20 1979) American Airlines Flight 444 (November 1979)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory, or in adjacent waters thereof. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 (July 1970) occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. 1960–1969 ◄ 1970–1979 ► 1980–1989

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Guam
World Airways Flight 830 (September 1960) Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) Korean Air Flight 801 (August 1997) Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident (February 2008) Guam B-52 crash (July 2008)

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