1946 American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 crash

On October 3, 1946, an American Overseas Airlines (AOA) Douglas DC-4 aircraft named Flagship New England crashed soon after take-off from Stephenville, Newfoundland, killing all 39 people on board. It was, at the time, the deadliest plane crash on Canadian soil, and is now the tenth-deadliest as of 2014.^[1]

Aircraft and occupants

Flagship New England was a Douglas C-54E-5-DO (Douglas DC-4) aircraft registered N90904. It had first flown in 1945 and had logged a total of 3,731 flight hours during its career. On 24 October 1945, it was with Flagship New England that AOA launched international flight services. On the accident flight, the aircraft carried 31 passengers and a crew of eight. Most of the passengers were wives and children of U.S. servicemen stationed in Germany.^[1]

Flight and accident

At 12:14 PM EST on 2 October, Flagship New England departed New York-LaGuardia Airport for a transatlantic commercial flight to Berlin, with stops in Gander, Newfoundland and Shannon, Ireland. However, poor weather conditions at Gander forced the flight crew to land at Stephenville instead. In order to let the crew rest, the flight stopped at Stephenville for the next twelve hours.^[1]

At 4:45 AM on 3 October, Flagship New England left the gate and was initially cleared to depart from runway 30; however, apparently unfavorable wind conditions prompted Stephenville ATC to clear it for runway 07 instead. Overcast skies blocked out light from the moon and stars, rendering the terrain ahead unlit. Flights departing from runway 07 were supposed to make a right-hand turn immediately after take-off so as to avoid increasing terrain up ahead. However, the pilots of Flagship New England instead continued going straight upon lifting off. At about 5:03 AM, some seven miles from the end of the runway, the aircraft hit a ridge at an elevation of about 1,160 feet and crashed, killing everyone aboard. Investigation into the accident indicates the pilots' decision to continue forward, which led them over terrain over which sufficient clearance could not be gained, led to the crash.^[1]

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