Misplaced Pages

Arrow Air Flight 1285R: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 03:16, 5 June 2008 editAnyeverybody (talk | contribs)Pending changes reviewers5,541 edits Crum please stop edit warring, as pointed out policy supports and encourages inclusion of user created images, your inability to back points with anything but opinion is simple edit warring← Previous edit Latest revision as of 13:42, 2 January 2025 edit undo2a04:b2c2:1804:1600:70fb:af7f:a6e1:45ab (talk) lede: clearing {{cn}} (+ adding citations at repeats; + clearing repeat links); + clarification 
(602 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|December 1985 plane crash in Newfoundland, Canada}}
{{Infobox Airliner accident |
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
name=Arrow Air Flight 1285|
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
Crash image=ArrowDc-8.png|
| occurrence_type = Accident
Image caption=CG render of N950JW<ref name=asnphoto> Photo of N950JW from aviation-safety.net</ref> |
| name = Arrow Air Flight 1285R
Date=] ] |
| image = N950JW (Arista International) N950JW - McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF - AIA Arista International at Zuerich-Kloten Airport (ZRH) in April 1984.jpg
Type=Stall/Crash (Icing most likely) |
| image_upright = 1.15
Site=Gander, Newfoundland |
| alt =
Fatalities=256|
| caption = N950JW, the aircraft involved in the accident in 1984 while still in service with a previous operator.
Injuries=0|
| date = 12 December 1985
bgcol=transparent |
| summary =
Origin=]|
] and overloading leading to ]
Stopover=]|
Last stopover=]| | site = ], ], Canada
| coordinates = {{coord|48|54|43|N|54|34|27|W|type:event|display=inline,title}}
Destination=]|
| occupants = 256
Operator=]|
| passengers = 248
Tail Number= N950JW |
| crew = 8
Passengers=248|
| fatalities = 256
Crew=8|
| survivors = 0
Survivors =0|
Aircraft Type=] ] | | aircraft_type = ]
| origin = ], Egypt
| stopover0 = ],<br />], West Germany
| last_stopover = ], ], Canada
| destination = ], ], United States
| aircraft_name =
| operator = ]
| tail_number = N950JW
| IATA = MF1285R
}} }}
{{Location map|Canada |label=Gander&nbsp; |marksize=5 |mark=Red_pog.svg |relief=yes |lat_dir=N |lat_deg=48.911 |lat_min= |lat_sec= |lon_dir=W |lon_deg=54.574 |lon_min= |lon_sec= |position=top |width=300 |float=right |caption=Location in ]}}
{{Location map|Newfoundland |relief=yes |label=Gander |marksize=5 |mark=Red_pog.svg |lat_dir=N |lat_deg=48.911 |lat_min= |lat_sec= |lon_dir=W |lon_deg=54.574 |lon_min= |lon_sec=|position=bottom |width=200 |float=right |caption=Location in ]}}
'''Arrow Air Flight 1285R''' was an international charter flight carrying U.S. Army personnel from ], Egypt, to their home base in ], ], via ], West Germany, and ], ].<ref name=tfeki >{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=36YyAAAAIBAJ&pg=1624%2C659619 |newspaper=The Citizen |location=Ottawa, Canada |agency=The Canadian Press |title=258 killed in Gander plane crash |date=12 December 1985 |page=1}}</ref> On the morning of Thursday, 12 December 1985, shortly after takeoff from Canada's ] en route to Fort Campbell, the ] serving the flight ], crashed, and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 248 passengers and 8 crew members on board.<ref name=tbro>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BD0yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1698%2C1240370 |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |agency=news services |title=Terror bomb ruled out in Canada's worst crash |date=13 December 1985 |page=A1}}</ref> {{As of|2025}}, it is the deadliest aviation accident to occur on Canadian soil.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident|id=19851212-0}}</ref> At the time of the crash, it was the deadliest aviation accident involving a DC-8; its death toll was surpassed by the crash of ] nearly six years later.<ref name=asn />


The accident was investigated by the ] (CASB), which determined that the probable cause of the crash was the aircraft's unexpectedly high drag and reduced lift condition, most likely due to ] on the wings' leading edges and upper surfaces, as well as underestimated onboard weight.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> A ] stated that the accident could have been caused by an onboard explosion of unknown origin before impact, with one of these dissenting investigators later telling a ] that a thin layer of ice could not bring down the aircraft.<ref name="CASB Minority Report">{{cite book |url=http://www.avsaf.org/reports/CANADA/1985.12.12_ArrowAirInc_MF1285R%28DissentingOpinion%29.pdf |title=Dissenting Opinion, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985 |publisher=] |date=14 November 1988 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404060705/http://www.avsaf.org/reports/CANADA/1985.12.12_ArrowAirInc_MF1285R%28DissentingOpinion%29.pdf |archive-date=4 April 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Mayday>{{Cite episode |title=] |series=] |publisher=] |network=] <!--- per country of origin: other nations' networks and series titles can be found at the linked article ---> |season=11 |number=3 |date=2011-08-26}}</ref> The dissenting report led to delays in changes to ] procedures, and a thin layer of ice caused the deadly crash of ] in Canada in 1989.
'''] Flight 1285''' was a ] ] ], registered N950JW, which operated as an international charter flight, carrying U.S. troops from ] to their home base in ], ], via ] and ]. On the morning of ], ], shortly after takeoff from Gander en route to Fort Campbell, the aircraft ], crashed and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 256 passengers and crew on board.<ref name=asn>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19851212-0|title=Arrow Air Flight 1285 accident record|publisher=ASN}}</ref>


In response to lack of confidence in accident investigations by the CASB, the Government of Canada shut the board down in 1990, replacing it with an independent, multi-modal investigative agency &ndash; the ].<ref name = Wings />
The accident was investigated by the ] (CASB), and was determined to have been caused by the aircraft's unexpectedly high drag and reduced lift condition, which most likely was due to ] on the wings' leading edges and upper surfaces.<ref name=csb/> A minority report stated that the accident could have been caused by an on board explosion of unknown origin prior to impact.<ref name=csbd>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandford.org/gandercrash/investigations/minority_report/html/_cover_page.shtml|title=CASB Minority Report}}</ref>


==Flight history== ==Flight history==
]
The aircraft was chartered to carry U.S. servicemen, mostly members of the ], ], from a six-month stay in the ], where they had served in the ] peacekeeping force, back to their base in ], ]. The four-engine ] departed ], ] on ], ] at 20:35 UTC, headed to Fort Campbell via ], ] and ].
The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF, was chartered to carry ] personnel, all but 12 of them members of the ], back to their base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They had completed a six-month deployment in the ], in the ] peacekeeping mission.<ref name=asn/> The DC-8 involved in the accident (registration {{Airreg|N|950JW|)}} was manufactured in 1969, and was first delivered to ] and then leased to other airlines before being leased to ] under its owner/parent company, International Air Leases.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/>


The flight was made up of three legs, with refuelling stops in Cologne and Gander.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> The aircraft departed Cairo at 20:35 ] on Wednesday 11 December 1985, and arrived at Cologne on Thursday 12 December 1985, at 01:21 UTC.
The aircraft landed at ] early in the morning of ] for a refueling stop. Flight 1285 then departed Gander later that morning, bound for Kentucky.


A new flight crew, consisting of ] John Griffin and ] Joseph Connelly (both 45), and ] Michael Fowler (48),<ref>{{cite web|title= Disasters: Gander, Newfoundland Plane Crash December 12, 1985|url= http://nlt.rootsweb.com/disasters/gander/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060427175825/http://nlt.rootsweb.com/disasters/gander/|archive-date= 27 April 2006}}</ref> boarded the aircraft before it departed for Gander at 02:50 UTC.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> The aircraft arrived at ] at 09:04, where passengers departed the aircraft while the aircraft was refuelled. Witnesses reported that the flight engineer conducted an external inspection of the aircraft, after which the passengers re-boarded the aircraft.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/>
==Crash sequence==
The ] began its take-off roll on runway 22 from the intersection of runway 13 at 06:45 ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandford.org/gandercrash/investigations/majority_report/graphics/figure_1-3.jpg|title=Gander International Airport Diagram}}</ref> It rotated near taxiway "A", 51 seconds after brake release at an airspeed of about 167 ]. The aircraft had difficulty gaining altitude after rotation; the airspeed reached 172 KIAS and began to decrease again, causing the DC-8 to descend. After crossing the ] at a very low altitude, the pitch angle increased, but the aircraft continued to descend until it struck down-sloping terrain just short of ], and crashed approximately 3,000 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. The aircraft broke up and burst into flames, starting a fire that burned for four hours.<ref name=asn/>


The DC-8 began its takeoff roll on runway 22 from the intersection of runway 13 at 10:15 UTC (06:45 ]). It ] near taxiway A, 51 seconds after brake release, at an airspeed of about {{convert|167|kn|km/h mph}} ].<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> Witnesses reported the aircraft showed difficulty gaining altitude after rotation. Once airborne, the airspeed reached {{convert|172|kn|km/h mph}} IAS before decreasing again, causing the DC-8 to descend. After crossing the ], located about {{convert|900|ft|m}} from the departure end of runway 22, at a very low altitude, the aircraft's pitch increased, and it continued to descend.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/>
==Investigation and final report==
The ] (CASB) investigated the crash, and, under the signature of five of nine board members, issued the following Probable Cause statement in its final report:<ref name=asn/><ref name=csb>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandford.org/gandercrash/investigations/majority_report/html/_i.shtml|title=CASB Majority Report}}</ref>
{{quotation|The Canadian Aviation Safety Board was unable to determine the exact sequence of events which led to this accident. The Board believes, however, that the weight of evidence supports the conclusion that, shortly after lift-off, the aircraft experienced an increase in drag and reduction in lift which resulted in a stall at low altitude from which recovery was not possible. The most probable cause of the stall was determined to be ice contamination on the leading edge and upper surface of the wing. Other possible factors such as a loss of thrust from the number four engine and inappropriate take-off reference speeds may have compounded the effects of the contamination.}}


Witnesses driving on the highway stated that they saw a bright glow emanating from the aircraft before it struck terrain just short of ] and crashed approximately {{convert|3500|ft|m}} beyond the departure end of the runway.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> Flight 1285R broke up, struck an unoccupied building<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> and exploded; this started an intense fire fed by the large amount of fuel carried on board for the final leg of the flight. All 248 passengers and 8 crew perished.<ref name=asn/><ref name="CASB Majority Report"/>
The CASB's mention of inappropriate ] stems from their finding that the crew selected takeoff reference speeds corresponding to a takeoff weight as much as 14,000 to 35,000 pounds less than the actual takeoff weight for the flight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandford.org/gandercrash/investigations/majority_report/html/_2-4.shtml|title=CASB majority report: Aircraft Weight}}</ref><ref name=csb/>


==Investigation==
Four members of the CASB dissented, issuing a minority opinion which concluded:<ref name=csbd/>
The ] (CASB) investigated the crash and, in a report signed by five of its nine board members, found that during its approach toward Gander, precipitation conditions were favourable for the formation of ice on the aircraft's wings. After landing, it continued to be exposed to "freezing and frozen precipitation capable of producing roughening on the wing upper surface" in addition to the freezing temperature. They also found that prior to takeoff the aircraft had not been ]d.<ref name="CASB Majority Report"/> The board issued the following probable cause statement in its final report:<ref name=asn/><ref name="CASB Majority Report">{{cite web|url=http://flightopsresearch.org/data/files/arrow1285.pdf|title=Aviation Occurrence Report, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985 |publisher=] |date=14 November 1988 |access-date=11 September 2017}}</ref>
{{quotation|An in-flight fire that may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin brought about catastrophic system failures.}}

<blockquote>The Canadian Aviation Safety Board was unable to determine the exact sequence of events that led to this accident. The Board believes, however, that the weight of evidence supports the conclusion that, shortly after lift-off, the aircraft experienced an increase in drag and reduction in lift that resulted in a stall at low altitude from which recovery was not possible. The most probable cause of the stall was determined to be ice contamination on the leading edge and upper surface of the wing. Other possible factors such as a loss of thrust from the number four engine and inappropriate takeoff reference speeds may have compounded the effects of the contamination.</blockquote>

Four (of nine) members of the CASB dissented, issuing a minority opinion asserting that there was no evidence presented proving that ice had been present on leading edges such as the wings, and the minority report speculated that "An in-flight fire that may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin brought about catastrophic system failures."<ref name="CASB Minority Report"/>

The report also noted the inadequacy of the data from the antiquated ], which recorded only airspeed, altitude, heading, and vertical acceleration forces. The plane also took off with a non-functioning cockpit area microphone. There were no steps on any of the standard checklists to test the microphone's functionality, despite the existence of a button in the cockpit for that sole purpose. The defect went undetected for an indeterminate number of flights leading up to the accident flight, and thus the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) did not record any useful data.<ref name="CASB Majority Report" />

The main final report is 95 pages long while the minority report is only 14 pages long. The main report has overwhelming support in evidence produced by the 31 investigators working on the crash for 3 years. The minority report on the other hand consists of multiple hypotheses supported solely by witness statements and improbable claims with very little supporting evidence that were deemed unreliable and dismissed by experienced investigators.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

], a former ] judge, submitted a review of the CASB report in 1989, ruling that the available evidence did not support either conclusion. Estey reviewed the report from the perspective of ] as per a court of law rather than based on the available evidence as how investigators make their conclusions. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-22-mn-3309-story.html|title=Canada Judge Rejects New Gander Crash Probe|website=Los Angeles Times|date=22 July 1989|access-date=27 August 2011}}</ref> As a result, the Canadian public's confidence in the CASB was undermined. The federal government responded by creating the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.<ref name = Wings >Watson, Blair. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925140925/http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/aviation/2008/ht_20080701.asp |date=25 September 2010 }}. '']'' at Transportation Safety Board of Canada. July/August 2008. Retrieved on 17 September 2010.</ref>


==Aftermath== ==Aftermath==
] on 16 December 1985|thumb|right]]
On the day of the crash, responsibility was claimed by ], a wing of ]. The crash came on the second anniversary (]) of another attack for which Islamic Jihad took credit: the ], the French and American Embassies among them. Members of Hezbollah had participated in and were jailed for those attacks, but most of the conspirators were members of the Iraqi ] party ], or the Call (today one of the largest political parties in Iraq).
]
]


On the day of the crash, responsibility was claimed by the ] (de-facto part of ]<ref name="NB">{{cite book |author=Nicholas Blanford |title=Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah's Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel |publisher=Random House |year=2011 |isbn=9781400068364 |pages=16, 32}}</ref>). Islamic Jihad had already claimed responsibility for the ] that killed more than 200 American Marines. The claim was dismissed by the Canadian and U.S. governments soon after.<ref name=tbro/><ref name=pawqu>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4KYyAAAAIBAJ&pg=2583%2C1290274 |newspaper=The Citizen |location=Ottawa, Canada |agency=staff and wire reports |title=Plane's airworthiness questioned |date=13 December 1985 |page=1}}</ref> According to ], "Hours after the crash the Islamic Jihad – a ] extremist group – claimed it destroyed the plane to prove ability to strike at the Americans anywhere." Pentagon and Canadian government officials rejected the claim, made by an anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut.<ref>{{cite news|title=Errors By Crew Reportedly Cited in Gander Crash|date=6 November 1988|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer, United Press International|page=A33|first=Laurie|last=Watson}}</ref>
The claim was dismissed by the Canadian and U.S. governments soon afterwards. According to United Press International:
<blockquote>Hours after the crash the Islamic Jihad - a Shiite Muslim extremist group - claimed it destroyed the plane to prove "our ability to strike at the Americans anywhere." Pentagon and Canadian government officials rejected the claim, made by an anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut.<ref>{{cite news|title=Errors By Crew Reportedly Cited In Gander Crash|date=], ]|publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer, United Press International|page=A33|first=Laurie|last=Watson}}</ref></blockquote>


256 people died: 248 U.S. servicemen and 8 crew. That death toll constituted the deadliest plane crash in Canada (and remains so to date in ]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=C|title=Aviation Safety Network|accessdate=2006-10-22}}</ref> and the highest death toll on any day for the U.S. armed forces since ], even including combat losses, the greatest of which occurred in ], after the ] in ]. The death toll of all 256 people on board – 248 U.S. servicemen and 8 crew members, still constitutes the deadliest plane crash in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=C|title=Canada air safety profile|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=aviation-safety.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928035505/http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=C|archive-date=28 September 2006|access-date=2006-10-22}}</ref> and the U.S. Army's single deadliest air crash in ].<ref>Wolf, Marion E. (1990). ''Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Etiology, Phenomenology, and Treatment''. American Psychiatric Pub, p. 127. {{ISBN|0880482990}}</ref>


Of the 248 servicemen, all but twelve were members of ], most of whom were from the 3d Battalion, ]; eleven were from other Forces Command units; and one was an agent from the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/DAHSUM/1986/appA.htm|title=Tragedy at Gander|publisher=U.S. Army}}</ref> Of the 248 servicemen, all but twelve were members of ], most of whom were from the 3d Battalion, ]; eleven were from other ] units; and one was an agent from the ] (CID).<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1986/appA.htm|chapter=Tragedy at Gander|publisher=]|title=Department of the Army Historical Summary Fiscal Year 1986|first=Terrence J.|last=Gough|year=1995|access-date=6 July 2010|archive-date=4 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704232041/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1986/appA.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>


A memorial to the 256 victims at the crash site overlooks ] in ], another memorial was erected at Fort Campbell. A memorial to the 256 victims at the crash site overlooks Gander Lake, and another memorial was erected at Fort Campbell. There is also a Memorial Park in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, just north of Fort Campbell. {{As of|2018}}, the scar from the crash is still visible from the ground and by satellite.

The dissenting report led to delays in changes to de-icing procedures, later made after a ] caused the deadly crash of ] in Canada in 1989. In response to lack of confidence in accident investigations by the CASB, the government of Canada shut down the board in 1990, replacing it with an independent, multi-modal investigative agency &ndash; the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.<ref name = Wings />

==In popular culture==
The television documentary series '']'' featured the Flight 1285R crash and investigation in a season 11 episode titled ], which included interviews with accident investigators and a dramatic recreation of the accident.<ref name=Mayday/>


==See also== ==See also==
*]. * ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
<References/>

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Gary|title=Where Eagles Lie Fallen: The Crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285, Gander, Newfoundland|year=2010|publisher=Flanker Press |isbn=978-1-8973176-7-9}}
*{{cite book|author=Saul M Montes-Bradley II|title=Gander: Terrorism, Incompetence, and the Rise of Islamic National Socialism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YCt9vgAACAAJ|year=2016|publisher=Thomas Osgood ]|isbn=978-0-9859632-5-5}}
*{{Cite book|last=Filotas|first=Les|title=Improbable Cause: Deceit and Dissent in the investigation of America's Worst Military Air Disaster|year=2007|publisher=Booksurge |isbn=978-1-4196512-5-0}}
* () – Canadian Aviation Safety Board
* () – Canadian Aviation Safety Board
* {{cite thesis |type=MA |last=Goodno|first=Barbara Ann|others=Directed by Benjamin F. Holman and Carl Sessions Stepp|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA220840.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106075544/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA220840.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=6 January 2022|access-date=6 January 2022|date=1988|title=Grief Reporting: A Print Media Content Analysis of the Gander, Newfoundland Air Disaster|publisher=]}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Bartone|first1=Paul T.|last2=Ursano|first2=Robert J.|last3=Wright|first3=Kathleen M.|last4=Ingraham|first4=Larry H.|date=June 1989|title=The Impact of a Military Air Disaster on The Health of Assistance Workers|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198906000-00001|journal=The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease|volume=177|issue=6|pages=317–328|doi=10.1097/00005053-198906000-00001|pmid=2723619 |s2cid=25271993 |issn=0022-3018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627063217/https://login.wolterskluwer.com/as/OXG9b/resume/as/authorization.ping|archive-date=27 June 2022}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106075541/http://www.hardiness-resilience.com/docs/milairdisaster.pdf |date=6 January 2022 }}


==External links== ==External links==
{{commons category|Arrow Air Flight 1285}}
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
{{external media
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
| float = right
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
| width =
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
| image1 = at
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
}}
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
*]] - retrieved 28 Dec 2006
* at


*Magnuson, Ed (23 December 1985). . '']''. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
{{coor title dms|48|54|43|N|54|34|27|W|region:CA-NL_type:landmark_scale:30000}}
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – retrieved 28 December 2006
* – ] – retrieved 12 December 2021
* in ] – retrieved 28 December 2006


] {{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1985|state=collapsed}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Canada}}
]
{{Portal bar|Aviation|1980s|United States<!--Country of the airline-->|Canada}}

]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]

]

Latest revision as of 13:42, 2 January 2025

December 1985 plane crash in Newfoundland, Canada

Arrow Air Flight 1285R
N950JW, the aircraft involved in the accident in 1984 while still in service with a previous operator.
Accident
Date12 December 1985
SummaryAtmospheric icing and overloading leading to stall
SiteGander International Airport, Newfoundland, Canada
48°54′43″N 54°34′27″W / 48.91194°N 54.57417°W / 48.91194; -54.57417
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF
OperatorArrow Air
IATA flight No.MF1285R
RegistrationN950JW
Flight originCairo International Airport, Egypt
1st stopoverCologne Bonn Airport,
North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Last stopoverGander International Airport, Newfoundland, Canada
DestinationCampbell Army Airfield, Kentucky, United States
Occupants256
Passengers248
Crew8
Fatalities256
Survivors0
Gander  is located in CanadaGander Gander class=notpageimage| Location in Canada Gander is located in NewfoundlandGanderGanderclass=notpageimage| Location in Newfoundland

Arrow Air Flight 1285R was an international charter flight carrying U.S. Army personnel from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, West Germany, and Gander, Newfoundland. On the morning of Thursday, 12 December 1985, shortly after takeoff from Canada's Gander International Airport en route to Fort Campbell, the McDonnell Douglas DC-8 serving the flight stalled, crashed, and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 248 passengers and 8 crew members on board. As of 2025, it is the deadliest aviation accident to occur on Canadian soil. At the time of the crash, it was the deadliest aviation accident involving a DC-8; its death toll was surpassed by the crash of Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 nearly six years later.

The accident was investigated by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB), which determined that the probable cause of the crash was the aircraft's unexpectedly high drag and reduced lift condition, most likely due to ice contamination on the wings' leading edges and upper surfaces, as well as underestimated onboard weight. A minority report stated that the accident could have been caused by an onboard explosion of unknown origin before impact, with one of these dissenting investigators later telling a United States congressional committee that a thin layer of ice could not bring down the aircraft. The dissenting report led to delays in changes to de-icing procedures, and a thin layer of ice caused the deadly crash of Air Ontario Flight 1363 in Canada in 1989.

In response to lack of confidence in accident investigations by the CASB, the Government of Canada shut the board down in 1990, replacing it with an independent, multi-modal investigative agency – the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Flight history

Wreckage from Arrow Air Flight 1285R in storage at a Gander Airport hangar on 16 December 1985

The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF, was chartered to carry U.S. Army personnel, all but 12 of them members of the 101st Airborne Division, back to their base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They had completed a six-month deployment in the Sinai, in the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping mission. The DC-8 involved in the accident (registration N950JW) was manufactured in 1969, and was first delivered to Eastern Air Lines and then leased to other airlines before being leased to Arrow Air under its owner/parent company, International Air Leases.

The flight was made up of three legs, with refuelling stops in Cologne and Gander. The aircraft departed Cairo at 20:35 UTC on Wednesday 11 December 1985, and arrived at Cologne on Thursday 12 December 1985, at 01:21 UTC.

A new flight crew, consisting of Captain John Griffin and First Officer Joseph Connelly (both 45), and Flight Engineer Michael Fowler (48), boarded the aircraft before it departed for Gander at 02:50 UTC. The aircraft arrived at Gander International Airport at 09:04, where passengers departed the aircraft while the aircraft was refuelled. Witnesses reported that the flight engineer conducted an external inspection of the aircraft, after which the passengers re-boarded the aircraft.

The DC-8 began its takeoff roll on runway 22 from the intersection of runway 13 at 10:15 UTC (06:45 NST). It rotated near taxiway A, 51 seconds after brake release, at an airspeed of about 167 knots (309 km/h; 192 mph) IAS. Witnesses reported the aircraft showed difficulty gaining altitude after rotation. Once airborne, the airspeed reached 172 knots (319 km/h; 198 mph) IAS before decreasing again, causing the DC-8 to descend. After crossing the Trans-Canada Highway, located about 900 feet (270 m) from the departure end of runway 22, at a very low altitude, the aircraft's pitch increased, and it continued to descend.

Witnesses driving on the highway stated that they saw a bright glow emanating from the aircraft before it struck terrain just short of Gander Lake and crashed approximately 3,500 feet (1,100 m) beyond the departure end of the runway. Flight 1285R broke up, struck an unoccupied building and exploded; this started an intense fire fed by the large amount of fuel carried on board for the final leg of the flight. All 248 passengers and 8 crew perished.

Investigation

The Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) investigated the crash and, in a report signed by five of its nine board members, found that during its approach toward Gander, precipitation conditions were favourable for the formation of ice on the aircraft's wings. After landing, it continued to be exposed to "freezing and frozen precipitation capable of producing roughening on the wing upper surface" in addition to the freezing temperature. They also found that prior to takeoff the aircraft had not been de-iced. The board issued the following probable cause statement in its final report:

The Canadian Aviation Safety Board was unable to determine the exact sequence of events that led to this accident. The Board believes, however, that the weight of evidence supports the conclusion that, shortly after lift-off, the aircraft experienced an increase in drag and reduction in lift that resulted in a stall at low altitude from which recovery was not possible. The most probable cause of the stall was determined to be ice contamination on the leading edge and upper surface of the wing. Other possible factors such as a loss of thrust from the number four engine and inappropriate takeoff reference speeds may have compounded the effects of the contamination.

Four (of nine) members of the CASB dissented, issuing a minority opinion asserting that there was no evidence presented proving that ice had been present on leading edges such as the wings, and the minority report speculated that "An in-flight fire that may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin brought about catastrophic system failures."

The report also noted the inadequacy of the data from the antiquated foil-tape flight data recorder, which recorded only airspeed, altitude, heading, and vertical acceleration forces. The plane also took off with a non-functioning cockpit area microphone. There were no steps on any of the standard checklists to test the microphone's functionality, despite the existence of a button in the cockpit for that sole purpose. The defect went undetected for an indeterminate number of flights leading up to the accident flight, and thus the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) did not record any useful data.

The main final report is 95 pages long while the minority report is only 14 pages long. The main report has overwhelming support in evidence produced by the 31 investigators working on the crash for 3 years. The minority report on the other hand consists of multiple hypotheses supported solely by witness statements and improbable claims with very little supporting evidence that were deemed unreliable and dismissed by experienced investigators.

Willard Estey, a former Supreme Court of Canada judge, submitted a review of the CASB report in 1989, ruling that the available evidence did not support either conclusion. Estey reviewed the report from the perspective of beyond a reasonable doubt as per a court of law rather than based on the available evidence as how investigators make their conclusions. As a result, the Canadian public's confidence in the CASB was undermined. The federal government responded by creating the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Aftermath

Caskets being carried in for a memorial service at Dover AFB on 16 December 1985
The "Silent Witness" by Kentucky artist Steve Shields. Arrow Air Flight 1285R memorial at Gander Lake, with a DC-8 taking off in the background
Arrow Air Flight 1285R memorial in Fort Campbell, Kentucky

On the day of the crash, responsibility was claimed by the Islamic Jihad Organization (de-facto part of Hezballah). Islamic Jihad had already claimed responsibility for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings that killed more than 200 American Marines. The claim was dismissed by the Canadian and U.S. governments soon after. According to United Press International, "Hours after the crash the Islamic Jihad – a Shiite Muslim extremist group – claimed it destroyed the plane to prove ability to strike at the Americans anywhere." Pentagon and Canadian government officials rejected the claim, made by an anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut.

The death toll of all 256 people on board – 248 U.S. servicemen and 8 crew members, still constitutes the deadliest plane crash in Canada, and the U.S. Army's single deadliest air crash in peacetime.

Of the 248 servicemen, all but twelve were members of 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), most of whom were from the 3d Battalion, 502nd Infantry; eleven were from other Forces Command units; and one was an agent from the Criminal Investigations Command (CID).

A memorial to the 256 victims at the crash site overlooks Gander Lake, and another memorial was erected at Fort Campbell. There is also a Memorial Park in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, just north of Fort Campbell. As of 2018, the scar from the crash is still visible from the ground and by satellite.

The dissenting report led to delays in changes to de-icing procedures, later made after a thin layer of ice caused the deadly crash of Air Ontario Flight 1363 in Canada in 1989. In response to lack of confidence in accident investigations by the CASB, the government of Canada shut down the board in 1990, replacing it with an independent, multi-modal investigative agency – the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

In popular culture

The television documentary series Mayday featured the Flight 1285R crash and investigation in a season 11 episode titled "Split Decision", which included interviews with accident investigators and a dramatic recreation of the accident.

See also

References

  1. "258 killed in Gander plane crash". The Citizen. Ottawa, Canada. The Canadian Press. 12 December 1985. p. 1.
  2. ^ "Terror bomb ruled out in Canada's worst crash". Montreal Gazette. news services. 13 December 1985. p. A1.
  3. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  4. ^ "Aviation Occurrence Report, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985" (PDF). Canadian Aviation Safety Board. 14 November 1988. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. ^ Dissenting Opinion, Arrow Air Inc. Douglas DC-8-63 N950JW, Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, 12 December 1985 (PDF). Canadian Aviation Safety Board. 14 November 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Split Decision". Mayday. Season 11. Episode 3. Cineflix. 26 August 2011. Discovery Channel Canada.
  7. ^ Watson, Blair. "The Transportation Safety Board Taking centre stage to advance aviation safety" Archived 25 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Wings at Transportation Safety Board of Canada. July/August 2008. Retrieved on 17 September 2010.
  8. "FAA Registry (N950JW)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  9. "Disasters: Gander, Newfoundland Plane Crash December 12, 1985". Archived from the original on 27 April 2006.
  10. "Canada Judge Rejects New Gander Crash Probe". Los Angeles Times. 22 July 1989. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  11. Nicholas Blanford (2011). Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah's Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel. Random House. pp. 16, 32. ISBN 9781400068364.
  12. "Plane's airworthiness questioned". The Citizen. Ottawa, Canada. staff and wire reports. 13 December 1985. p. 1.
  13. Watson, Laurie (6 November 1988). "Errors By Crew Reportedly Cited in Gander Crash". The Philadelphia Inquirer, United Press International. p. A33.
  14. Ranter, Harro. "Canada air safety profile". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  15. Wolf, Marion E. (1990). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Etiology, Phenomenology, and Treatment. American Psychiatric Pub, p. 127. ISBN 0880482990
  16. Gough, Terrence J. (1995). "Tragedy at Gander". Department of the Army Historical Summary Fiscal Year 1986. United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2010.

Further reading

External links

External image
image icon Pre-crash photos of the DC-8 in service with Arrow Air and other airline companies at Airliners.net
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1985 (1985)
Jan 1 Eastern Air Lines Flight 980Jan 18 CAAC Flight 5109Jan 21 Galaxy Airlines Flight 203Feb 1 Aeroflot Flight 7841Feb 19 China Airlines Flight 006Feb 19 Iberia Flight 610Feb 24 Polar 3May 3 Zolochiv mid-air collisionJun 14 Trans World Airlines Flight 847Jun 21 Braathens SAFE Flight 139Jun 23 Air India Flight 182Jul 10 Aeroflot Flight 5143Aug 2 Delta Air Lines Flight 191Aug 12 Japan Air Lines Flight 123Aug 22 Manchester Airport disasterAug 25 Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808Sep 4 Bakhtar Antonov An-26 shootdownSep 6 Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105Sep 23 Henson Airlines Flight 1517Nov 10 Teterboro mid-air collisionNov 23 EgyptAir Flight 648Nov 25 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crashDec 12 Arrow Air Flight 1285RDec 19 Aeroflot Flight 101/435Dec 31 Ricky Nelson plane crash
1984   ◄    ►   1986
Aviation accidents and incidents in Canada
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Portals: Categories: