World Airways Flight 30
| Industry | Airline |
|---|---|
| Products | Air transport services |
World Airways Flight 30 involved a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF aircraft that experienced a deadly crash while landing at Logan International Airport in Boston following its departure from Newark International Airport on January 23, 1982. Two passengers were never recovered and are presumed to have drowned.
Aircraft
The airplane, bearing the registration N113WA, was produced in 1980 as the 320th unit of the DC-10 series. It was powered by three General Electric CF6-50C2 engines and had accumulated 6,327 hours of flight time before the incident.
Crew
Captain Peter Langley, aged 58, had amassed 18,091 hours of flying experience, including 1,969 hours on the DC-10 model. The First Officer, Donald Hertzfeldt, 38 years old, possessed a total of 8,600 flight hours. Flight Engineer William Rogers, aged 56, was the most seasoned member with 20,000 hours logged.
Accident
The DC-10 landed approximately beyond the displaced threshold. Under typical conditions, the available runway length would have been adequate for stopping. However, due to icy surface conditions and braking effectiveness reported to the pilots as "fair to poor"—though actual conditions ranged from poor to nonexistent—the aircraft was unable to halt safely.
With insufficient runway remaining to execute a go-around maneuver, the flight crew directed the plane off the runway to avoid striking approach lighting structures. The aircraft skidded over a field and taxiway before coming to rest in the waters of Boston Harbor at 7:36 pm local time.
A Delta Air Lines flight had reported poor braking conditions just 35 minutes prior; however, this critical information was not communicated to World Airways Flight 30.
The front section of the fuselage containing the cockpit and galley detached and submerged, placing crew members and several passengers in the water. Out of 212 people on board, 210 survived, including documentary filmmaker Justine Shapiro. Two passengers—Walter Metcalf (70) and Leo Metcalf (40), who had altered their flights last minute and were not listed on the manifest—were missing and presumed drowned. Despite extensive search operations, their remains were never found, likely swept away by ocean currents from the crash vicinity.
See also
External links
- Accident details at planecrashinfo.com
- Articles with short description
- World Airways accidents and incidents
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by ice
- 1982 meteorology
- 1982 in Boston
- Airliner accidents and incidents in Massachusetts
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1982
- Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10
- Logan International Airport
- January 1982 in the United States
- Disasters in Boston
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982