Air Canada Flight 797
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 2, 1983 |
| Type | Inflight fire |
| Site | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Fatalities | 23 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-9 |
| Operator | Air Canada |
| Tail number | C-FTLU |
| Passengers | 41 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Survivors | 18 |
Air Canada Flight 797 was a scheduled trans-border flight that flew on a Houston, Texas-Dallas/Fort Worth-Toronto, Ontario route. The aircraft on the flight caught fire on June 2, 1983.
On that day, the Air Canada aircraft registered C-FTLU took off from Houston Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas and made a stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The aircraft was bound for Toronto International Airport (now Toronto Pearson International Airport) in Mississauga, Ontario.
Donald Cameron was the captain and Claude Ouimet, first officer. While flying over Louisville, Kentucky, an in-flight fire began in the rear lavatory of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32.
Cameron and Ouimet made an emergency landing at the Greater Cincinnati Airport (now Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport), located in Boone County, Kentucky near Cincinnati, Ohio. During the evacuation, the aircraft doors were opened, causing an influx of air that fueled the fire. 23 of the 41 passengers died from smoke inhalation and a flash fire.
There were no fatalities among the five crew members.
Though all of its DC-9s have been retired, Air Canada still uses the flight number today on its Montréal-Los Angeles route.
Contents |
[edit] Notable passengers
- Stan Rogers was a Canadian folk singer, known for songs like "Northwest Passage", "The Mary Ellen Carter", "Song of the Candle", and "Barrett's Privateers". He was going home on Flight 797 after attending the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. He died in the fire at the age of 33, reportedly while helping other passengers to safety.
- Also on board was Curtis Mathes, founder of the electronics company that bears his name. He died in the fire.
[edit] Aftermath
As a result of this accident and other incidents of in flight fires on passenger aircraft, the Safety Board issued several recommendations to the FAA including Safety Recommendation A-83-70 which asked the FAA to expedite actions to require smoke detectors in lavatories; Safety Recommendation A-83-71 which asked the FAA to require the installation of automatic fire extinguishers adjacent to and in lavatory waste receptacles and other related recommendations. In addition Air carriers were to review fire training procedures and amend those that did not take aggressive actions to determine the source and severity of suspected cabin fires, including emergency descents for landing or ditching.
This accident, as of 2007, is Air Canada's last fatal accident.
