Allegheny Airlines Flight 737

1969 aviation accident

Allegheny Airlines Flight 737
Occurrence
A Convair 580 similar to the one involved
Date	January 6, 1969
Summary	Undetermined; presumably controlled flight into terrain
Site	Lafayette Township, McKean County, near Bradford Regional Airport, Bradford, Pennsylvania (41.8631088, -78.7233006)
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Convair CV-580
Operator	Allegheny Airlines
Registration	N5825
Flight origin	Washington D.C.
Stopover	Harrisburg International Airport
Destination	Bradford Regional Airport
Occupants	28
Passengers	25
Crew	3
Fatalities	11
Injuries	17
Survivors	17

Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 was a Convair CV-580 (aircraft registration N5825), that crashed while attempting to land at Bradford Regional Airport in Bradford, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1969. Eleven of the 28 occupants on board were killed.

Aircraft and crew

The flight was operated using a Convair CV-580 that was originally certificated as a Convair CV-440 on July 11, 1967, but was modified to include upgraded turbine engines and propellers and re-certificated as a CV-580. The aircraft had accumulated a total of 27,285 flight hours at the time of the accident. The flight crew consisted of Captain William I. Blanton Jr. (33), and First Officer Ronald Lesiak (31).

Flight

Flight 737 took off from Washington D.C. bound for Detroit, Michigan with intermediate stops in Harrisburg, Bradford, and Erie, Pennsylvania. The flight was uneventful until the aircraft began its approach to Bradford. Weather was overcast with one and one half miles visibility and snow showers. At ten miles from the airport, Flight 737 requested and received clearance to make its instrument approach to runway 14 instead of runway 32. The flight struck treetops just under five nautical miles from the airport before coming to rest upside down on a snow-covered golf course.

Cause

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was unable to determine the probable cause of the crash. "Of some 13 potential causes examined by the Board, three remain after final analysis. They are: 1) misreading of the altimeter by the captain, 2) a malfunction of the captain's altimeter after completion of the instrument approach procedure turn, and 3) a misreading of the instrument approach chart. Of these three, no single one can be accepted or rejected to the exclusion of another based on the available evidence."

Aftermath

Less than two weeks before flight 737 crashed, Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 also went down on approach to Bradford Airport on the same Detroit-Washington DC route via Erie, Bradford and Harrisburg. Both aircraft were approaching the same runway at Bradford, but in opposite directions at the time of the crashes. Shortly after Flight 737's crash, Allegheny Airlines self-imposed new rules for landings at airports. The rules required visibility of 1,000 feet up and three miles out for any airport without instrument landing systems. Allegheny cancelled 124 out of 1,409 scheduled flight segments in the first week after the new visibility rules were adopted.

References

^ Aircraft Accident Report, Allegheny Airlines, Inc., Allison Prop Jet Convair 440, N5825, near Bradford, Pennsylvania, January 6, 1969 (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. May 27, 1970. NTSB-AAR-70-10.
"FAA Registry (N5825)". Federal Aviation Administration.
Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580 N5825 Bradford Airport, PA (BFD)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
"Probers Express Amazement Over Similarity of 2 Crashes". The Free Lance–Star. January 7, 1968. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
"Common Factor In Crashes Sought". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. January 8, 1969. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
"Allegheny's Restrictions Cut Landings; Self-Imposed Visibility Rules Canceling Stops". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 15, 1969. Retrieved February 4, 2020.

External links

Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 at Airdisaster.com (Archive)

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)
Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 825Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking
1968 ◄ ► 1970

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)

Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 825Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking

1968 ◄ ► 1970

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s
1960	National Airlines Flight 2511 (January 6 1960) Capital Airlines Flight 20 (January 18 1960) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 (March 1960) Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 (July 1960) World Airways Flight 830 (September 1960)* Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (October 4 1960) Cal Poly football team (October 29 1960) New York mid-air collision (December 1960)
1961	Goldsboro B-52 crash (January 24 1961) American Airlines Flight 1502 (January 28 1961) Yuba City B-52 crash (March 1961) United Air Lines Flight 859 (July 11 1961) Alaska Airlines Flight 779 (July 21 1961) TWA Flight 529 (September 1 1961) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 (September 17 1961) Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 (November 8 1961) Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash (November 14 1961)
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 (March 1962) Continental Airlines Flight 11 (May 1962) Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 (July 1962) United Air Lines Flight 297 (November 23 1962) Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 (November 30 1962)
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 (January 1963) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 (February 1963) Camden PA-24 (March 1963) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 (June 1963) Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 (July 1963) Pan Am Flight 214 (December 1963)
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 crash (January 1964) Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (February 1964) Paradise Airlines Flight 901A (March 1964) Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 (May 1964) United Air Lines Flight 823 (July 1964) Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 (November 1964) Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 (December 1964)
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita (January 1965) Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 (February 1965) Pan Am Flight 843 (June 1965) Continental Airlines Flight 12 (July 1 1965) Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 (July 23 1965) United Air Lines Flight 389 (August 1965) American Airlines Flight 383 (November 8 1965) United Air Lines Flight 227 (November 11 1965) Carmel mid-air collision (December 1965)
1966	NASA T-38 crash (February 1966) American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D (April 1966) Braniff International Airways Flight 250 (August 1966) West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (October 1966)
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 (March 5 1967) TWA Flight 553 (March 9 1967) West Coast Airlines Flight 720 (March 10 1967) Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 (March 30 1967) Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 (June 1967) Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 (July 1967) Lake Erie skydiving disaster (August 1967) TWA Flight 159 (November 6 1967) X-15 Flight 3-65-97 (November 15 1967) TWA Flight 128 (November 20 1967)
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (March 1968) Braniff International Airways Flight 352 (May 3 1968) Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 (May 22 1968) Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 (August 1968) Northeast Airlines Flight 946 (October 1968) Japan Air Lines Flight 2 (November 22 1968) Pan Am Flight 281 (November 24 1968) Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 (December 2 1968) Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 (December 24 1968) Pan Am Flight 799 (December 26 1968) Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (December 27 1968) North Central Airlines Flight 458 (December 27 1968)
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 (January 6 1969) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 (January 13 1969) United Air Lines Flight 266 (January 18 1969) Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 (February 1969) Prinair Flight 277 (March 5 1969)* Delta Air Lines Flight 821 (March 25 1969) TWA Flight 5787 (July 1969) Newton Cessna 172 crash (August 1969) Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (September 1969) Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 (November 1969)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory. 1950–1959 ◄ 1960–1969 ► 1970–1979

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