1951 Miami Airlines C-46 crash
| Industry | Aviation |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Miami , United States |
Key people | Captain C. A. Lyons (pilot) |
| Products | Air transportation |
On December 16, 1951, a Miami Airlines Curtiss C-46 Commando crashed shortly after departing from Newark Airport in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of all 58 individuals aboard, ranking it as the second most fatal aviation disaster in the United States at that time.
Aircraft and occupants
The aircraft involved bore the registration N1678M and was a modified military Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando model, initially flown in 1945 and accumulating 4,138 flight hours. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp engines and carried a total of 52 passengers alongside six crew members. Among the crew was Captain C. A. Lyons from Miami Airlines, and among the passengers was Doris Ruby, a nightclub performer from New York City.
Accident
During the unscheduled flight from Newark to Tampa, the right engine experienced delayed ignition, with witnesses reporting persistent smoke emission. After taking off at 3:03 PM EST from runway 28, air traffic control noticed white smoke emanating from the right side of the aircraft. The control tower immediately sounded the crash alarm. A Miami Airlines captain present on the ground suspected an overheated right brake and recommended maintaining or lowering the landing gear; the flight crew followed this advice.
The plane maintained an altitude of approximately at a speed of about , while smoke intensified into black smoke and flames emerged from the right engine nacelle. Flames appeared beneath the nacelle after the landing gear was lowered. The aircraft banked roughly 10 degrees to the left and continued flying for an additional , gradually descending.
Near Elizabeth, at around , the aircraft suddenly entered a steep 90-degree left bank before crashing after clipping the roof of an unoccupied house. It then collided with a brick storage facility owned by Elizabeth Water Company and came to rest upside down along the bank of the Elizabeth River. The impact ignited fuel that caused a fire extinguished by firefighters after 17 minutes.
Everyone aboard lost their lives; one individual on the ground sustained serious injuries.
Aftermath
Investigation revealed that a failure in the number 10 cylinder hold-down studs of the right engine triggered the fire that led to this Miami Airlines C-46 crash.
This accident marked the first in a series of three significant crashes in Elizabeth, N.J., during the winter months of 1951–52. Just over a month later, an American Airlines Convair 240 crashed on final approach to Newark, resulting in 23 fatalities onboard and seven on the ground. Less than a month afterward, a National Airlines DC-6 collided with an apartment building, causing 33 deaths including 29 onboard. Following these incidents, Newark Airport was shut down until November 15, 1952.
These events served as inspiration for Elizabeth native and author Judy Blume’s 2015 novel In the Unlikely Event.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1951 in New Jersey
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1951
- Aviation accidents and incidents in New Jersey
- Aviation accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires
- Accidents and incidents involving the Curtiss C-46 Commando
- History of Elizabeth, New Jersey
- December 1951 in the United States
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure