Mohawk Airlines Flight 40

Mohawk Airlines

Industry	Airline
Headquarters	United States
Key people	Robert E. Peach (president)
Products	Air transportation

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Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 was a regular domestic route connecting Syracuse, New York to Washington, DC, with a scheduled layover in Elmira, New York. On June 23, 1967, the aircraft experienced a catastrophic loss of control and crashed, resulting in the deaths of all 30 passengers and four crew members aboard. This incident remains the most fatal accident in the airline’s history. The cause was traced to a failure of a valve within the auxiliary power unit, which ignited a fire spreading to the tailplane and ultimately caused loss of pitch control.

Aircraft and crew

This BAC 1-11 model was relatively new, having completed its maiden flight just the year prior. By the time of the accident, it had logged a total of 2,246 flight hours. The airplane was powered by two Rolls-Royce model 506-14 Spey engines produced by Rolls-Royce Limited. Its registration was N1116J and it bore the name Discover America.

The flight crew included Captain Charles E. Bullock, age 43, who had accumulated a total of 13,875 flight hours, including 603 hours on this specific aircraft type. The first officer was Troy E. Rudesill, aged 33, who possessed 4,814 flight hours overall with 667 hours on the BAC 1-11.

Flight sequence

The BAC 1-11 departed from runway 24 at Elmira Corning Regional Airport around 14:39 Eastern Daylight Time. About five minutes after takeoff, air traffic control cleared the flight to ascend to an altitude of 16,000 feet. Roughly nine minutes later, eyewitness accounts described seeing large sections of the tailplane detach from the aircraft while flames and smoke emitted from the fuselage as it flew southward near Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Following this structural failure, the airplane lost control and crashed into a densely forested area accessible only by dirt roads. No injuries were reported on the ground; however, all occupants aboard perished. Subsequently, New York Center controllers directed a Piper Aztec aircraft over the estimated crash area. The pilot observed burning debris consistent with an airplane wreckage later identified as Flight 40.

The crash site featured a gouged path through the forest approximately 100 yards wide and extending about 500 yards in length. The detached tail section landed nearly 400 yards away from the main impact zone. Some witnesses at a nearby coal strip mine quickly mobilized bulldozers to create two access roads leading to the wreckage located roughly one and a half miles distant.

In response to the tragedy, Mohawk Airlines president Robert E. Peach requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation conduct an inquiry into possible sabotage. In a telegram sent to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Peach stated: "Evidence has developed during next-of-kin notifications suggesting strong indications of sabotage. Mohawk Airlines officially demands that the FBI investigate this possibility." The specific details underlying these suspicions were not disclosed publicly by Peach at that time.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board initiated a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. The investigation revealed the following conclusions:

A complete malfunction occurred in a non-return valve within the auxiliary power unit. This failure permitted bleed air from the engine to flow in the reverse direction through the system. The air exited near the system's origin at temperatures high enough to ignite nearby components. The resulting fire rapidly extended to the aircraft's hydraulics, traveling along the hydraulic lines toward the tail section. This caused severe damage to the rear of the plane, leading to a loss of pitch control and ultimately causing the aircraft to plunge into the ground.

Aftermath

In July 1967, the National Transportation Safety Board issued three safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. In response, the FAA released Airworthiness Directive 68-01-01 aimed at preventing heat-related damage or fires within the airframe plenum of the auxiliary power unit installation. A memorial honoring those who lost their lives was established on 23 June 2017.

References

• Template:ASN accident
• National Transportation Safety Board Summary
• National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident Report - April 18, 1968

External links

• Full text of Airworthiness Directive 68-01-01, issued following the accident Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Photograph of the aircraft involved