Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26

Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 was a chartered Douglas DC-8 Military Airlift Command (MAC) contract flight operated by Capitol Air (then known as Capitol International Airways) from McChord Field in Tacoma to Cam Ranh Bay in Southern Vietnam via stopovers at Anchorage and at Yokota Air Base in Japan. The aircraft crashed after a botched take-off attempt from Runway 06R at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on November 27, 1970. Of the 229 people aboard the jet, 47 perished due to the post-crash fire with 49 people injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the accident. It released its final report on March 29, 1972, and concluded that the probable cause of the accident was the unintended deployment of the brakes on the landing gear which reduced the acceleration of the aircraft preventing rotation. The cause of the brake deployment was disputed, either due to a faulty brake hydraulic system or an inadvertently engaged parking brake.

Background of the flight

The Vietnam War was an ongoing battle between North Vietnam and the North-Vietnamese-backed Viet Cong, and Southern Vietnam, which had been taking place since 1955. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China while South Vietnam stood by a coalition led by the United States and supported by South Korea, Thailand, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand and Taiwan.

The United States had a large number of its troops situated in Vietnam during the war; by January 1969, approximately 543,400 U.S. Army soldiers were stationed in South Vietnam. Commercial aircraft from civil airlines were used for the transportation of U.S. troops. The United States Department of Defense awarded the charter contracts through public tenders. Capitol International Airways had been awarded the contract to transport military personnel on behalf of the Military Airlift Command from McChord Air Force Base, south of Tacoma to Cam Ranh Bay.

Capitol International Airways planned to use a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 to perform the trip to transport 219 military personnel with stopovers for refueling in Anchorage and at Yokota Air Base.

Flight

Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 was a chartered contract flight by the Military Airlift Command (MAC) from McChord Field in Tacoma to Cam Ranh Bay in Southern Vietnam via stopovers at Anchorage and Yokota. It was scheduled to transport 213 military personnel and 6 military dependents. The flight departed from McChord AFB at 12:04 Alaskan Standard Time, on its way to Ted Stevens. The flight touched down at Anchorage at 15:32. During the flight, the only indications of disorders with the aircraft was a noticeably higher amplitude generated which was indicated by the Airborne Vibration Monitor (AVM) and an unreliable Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR), both detected on Engine #1 (left-outermost engine). A service was done on the engine and it was noted that the EPR on engine one was malfunctioning, though no other discrepancies were noticed. The captain also stated that the braking action was marginal and had to deploy thrust reversers to stop the aircraft. A Boeing 727 pilot landed on Runway 06R at Anchorage and informed the air traffic controller about fair braking action.

Before the aircraft was taken off its chocks, it was de-iced due to a light freezing drizzle noted by the surface weather report:

15:45 – Local, estimated 500 feet broken, 2,500 feet overcast, visibility 5 miles, very light freezing drizzle, fog, wind 060° @ 9 knots, altimeter setting 30.01 inches.

17:05 – Record Special, measured 400 feet broken, 1,700 feet overcast, visibility 5 miles, very light freezing drizzle, fog, sea level pressure 1016.1 millibars, temperature 23 °F., dew point 22'°F., wind 050° @ 8 knots, altimeter setting 29.98 inches.

The flight departed at 17:02 Alaskan Standard Time on Runway 06R (10,900 ft long and 150 ft wide). Since the EPR on Engine #1 was malfunctioning, the crew attained a relatively stable engine pressure ratio by aligning the #2 engine's RPM, fuel flow, and exhaust gas temperature (BGT) indicators to correspond with those values obtained on the other three engines. The plane accelerated for take-off. When the aircraft reached V1 speed (138 knots), the crew reported an unusually sluggish acceleration. When the crew reached VR speed (153 knots), an attempt to take-off was conducted as the aircraft was accelerating at a consistent rate. However, the landing gear failed to rotate, therefore sealing the aircraft to the ground. Two U.S. Air Force passengers and eyewitnesses on the ground reported that as the aircraft passed approximately 2,000 to 3,000 ft of the runway, a series of loud reports were heard which were believed to be the tires on the DC-8 blowing out while none of the crew members recalled hearing any abnormalities associated with the landing gear. The crew tried to bring the plane to a halt but they were unsuccessful in doing so.

The contract flight impacted a four-by-four wooden fence 675 feet past the runway and an ILS localizer 1,002 feet past the runway on its left wing. A third impact soon followed, breaking open the fuselage and shearing off the right wing and subsequently leaking out fuel from it. It skidded to a halt in a 12 feet deep drainage ditch, 3,400 ft past Runway 06R with the break-out of a fire at the left wing, killing 46 passengers and a stewardess while leaving the cockpit area and the aft fuselage of the airframe intact. 43 passengers and 6 other stewardesses suffered severe burn injuries. Past only 560 feet of the runway, were several fragments of the landing gear tires.