Lake Central Airlines Flight 527

1967 aviation accident

Lake Central Airlines Flight 527

A Convair 580 similar to the accident aircraft. This aircraft crashed while operating with Air Tahoma in 2004.

Accident
Date| March 5, 1967 (1967-03-05)
Summary| Loss of control and aircraft break-up after catastrophic propeller failure
Site| During descent to Toledo Express Airport, near Marseilles Township, Wyandot County, Ohio
40°41′37″N 83°25′51″W﻿ / ﻿40.69361°N 83.43083°W﻿ / 40.69361; -83.43083
Aircraft
Aircraft type| Convair 580
Operator| Lake Central Airlines
Registration| N73130
Flight origin| Chicago O'Hare International Airport
1st stopover| Lafayette (IN) Airport
2nd stopover| Greater Cincinnati Airport
3rd stopover| Port Columbus International Airport
4th stopover| Toledo Express Airport
Destination| Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Passengers| 35
Crew| 3
Fatalities| 38
Survivors| 0

Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 was a regularly scheduled Convair 580 flight on March 5, 1967, from Chicago, Illinois to Detroit, Michigan with stops at Lafayette, Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio. The aircraft crashed near Marseilles, Ohio, killing all 38 passengers and crew on board.[1]

## Synopsis

[edit]

On March 5, 1967, Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 was scheduled from Chicago, Illinois to Detroit, Michigan. The flight, operated by one of the company's Convair 580 aircraft and flown by captain John W. Horn (45) and first officer Roger P. Skillman (33), left Chicago at 4:04 p.m. CST and proceeded normally to Lafayette, Cincinnati and Columbus. No problems were reported.

The aircraft was serviced in Columbus and departed at 7:52 p.m. EST for Toledo. At 8:05 p.m., the flight was cleared by air traffic control to descend from 10,000 to 6,000 feet (3,000 to 1,800 m) as it approached Toledo. Air traffic control requested that the flight report its descent and to report crossing 8,000 and 7,000 feet (2,400 and 2,100 m). The crew acknowledged leaving 10,000 feet. This was the last transmission from the aircraft.[1]

Witnesses in the vicinity of Marseilles, Ohio reported hearing sounds from an aircraft at times between 8:05 and 8:10 p.m. Some reported sounds similar to that of an engine starting. Shortly thereafter, the sound of an explosion was reported.

By 9:00 p.m., the authorities had confirmed that an aircraft had crashed in the area. Rain mixed with snow was reported at the time of the accident.

## Cause

[edit]

The aircraft was found to be loaded within normal limits, and the crew was found to be properly qualified for the flight, with no deficiencies reported.[1]

The aircraft was equipped with a flight data recorder, which sustained no damage in the crash and was successfully read by investigators. Approximately 14 minutes after departing Columbus, the aircraft was on a heading of 322 degrees when it abruptly veered right 40 degrees, and then left 55 degrees, before power to the recorder was abruptly terminated.[1] The cockpit voice recorder lost power at the same time, although investigators heard a sound resembling "the first few seconds of an air raid siren" just before shutoff.[1]

The aircraft crashed in a farm field on a heading of 360 degrees. The front fuselage was separated from the main part of the aircraft, and debris was recovered from a 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km), 0.5-mile-wide (0.80 km) trail on a heading of 135 degrees from the main wreckage. The right propeller was completely detached from the engine, as were the blades. In reconstructing the wreckage, the investigators discovered that the right propeller had separated during flight and severed the fuselage.[2]

During manufacture, propeller pistons, which control the pitch of the propellers, are coated through a process called nitriding, which hardens them and increases their resistance to surface wear.[3][4] They are supposed to be inspected to ensure that the process is completed, but investigators could not determine why N73130's propeller was not nitrided and did not fail inspections.[1] During the life of the engine, the piston had been slowly wearing away. During the flight, the piston finally failed, causing the propeller to speed beyond its limits. The stress caused the propeller to fail one to two seconds later. When the propeller failed, the blades were hurled through the cabin, severing control cables and compromising the plane's structural integrity. The investigators determined that the crash was caused solely by the propeller defect and subsequent failure.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "Aircraft Accident Report : Lake Central Airlines" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. February 26, 1968. Retrieved March 3, 2017 - via Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
2. ^ "Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 – Marseilles, Ohio – Plane Crash Sites on". Waymarking.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
3. ^ "CV-340 Accident". Enginehistory.org. March 5, 1967. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
4. ^ "Reaching Back Soft Steel". Cahslunken.org. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* A detailed explanation of the propeller failure
* Photo of N73130

* v
* t
* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1967 (1967)

Jan 14

Aeroflot Flight 5003

Feb 16

Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 708

Feb 28

Philippine Air Lines Flight 345

Mar 5

Lake Central Airlines Flight 527

Mar 5

Varig Flight 837

Mar 9

TWA Flight 553

Mar 10

West Coast Airlines Flight 720

Mar 13

South African Airways Flight 406

Mar 30

Delta Air Lines Flight 9877

Apr 11

Air Algérie DC-4 crash

Apr 20

Nicosia Globe Air Bristol Britannia crash

Jun 3

Air Ferry DC-4 accident

Jun 4

Stockport air disaster

Jun 23

Mohawk Airlines Flight 40

Jun 30

Thai Airways International Flight 601

Jul 6

Philippine Air Lines Flight 385

Jul 19

Piedmont Airlines Flight 22

Aug 27

Lake Erie skydiving disaster

Sep 5

ČSA Flight 523

Oct 12

Cyprus Airways Flight 284

Nov 4

Iberia Flight 062

Nov 6

TWA Flight 159

Nov 15

X-15 Flight 3-65-97

Nov 16

Aeroflot Flight 2230

Nov 20

TWA Flight 128

Dec 8

Faucett Perú Douglas C-54 crash

Dec 30

Aeroflot Flight L-51

1966  ◄ ► 1968

* v
* t
* e

Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s

1960|

* National Airlines Flight 2511 (January 6)
* Capital Airlines Flight 20 (January 18)
* Northwest Airlines Flight 710 (March)
* Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 (July)
* World Airways Flight 830 (September)*
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (October 4)
* Cal Poly football team (October 29)
* New York mid-air collision (December)

1961|

* Aeronaves de México Flight 401 (January 19)
* Goldsboro B-52 crash (January 24)
* American Airlines Flight 1502 (January 28)
* Yuba City B-52 crash (March)
* United Air Lines Flight 859 (July 11)
* Alaska Airlines Flight 779 (July 21)
* TWA Flight 529 (September 1)
* Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 (September 17)
* Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 (November 8)
* Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash (November 14)

1962|

* American Airlines Flight 1 (March)
* Continental Airlines Flight 11 (May)
* Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 (July)
* United Air Lines Flight 297 (November 23)
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 (November 30)

1963|

* Elephant Mountain B-52 (January)
* Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 (February)
* Camden PA-24 (March)
* Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 (June)
* Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 (July)
* Pan Am Flight 214 (December)

1964|

* Savage Mountain B-52 crash (January)
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (February)
* Paradise Airlines Flight 901A (March)
* Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 (May)
* United Air Lines Flight 823 (July)
* Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 (November)
* Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 (December)

1965|

* USAF KC-135 Wichita (January)
* Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 (February)
* Pan Am Flight 843 (June)
* Continental Airlines Flight 12 (July 1)
* Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 (July 23)
* United Air Lines Flight 389 (August)
* American Airlines Flight 383 (November 8)
* United Air Lines Flight 227 (November 11)
* Carmel mid-air collision (December)
* Japan Air Lines Flight 813 (December)

1966|

* NASA T-38 crash (February)
* American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D (April)
* Braniff International Airways Flight 250 (August)
* West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (October)

1967|

* Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 (March 5)
* TWA Flight 553 (March 9)
* West Coast Airlines Flight 720 (March 10)
* Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 (March 30)
* Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 (June)
* Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 (July)
* Lake Erie skydiving disaster (August)
* TWA Flight 159 (November 6)
* X-15 Flight 3-65-97 (November 15)
* TWA Flight 128 (November 20)

1968|

* Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (March)
* Braniff International Airways Flight 352 (May 3)
* Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 (May 22)
* Piedmont Airlines Flight 230 (August 10)
* Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 (August 14)
* Northeast Airlines Flight 946 (October)
* Japan Air Lines Flight 2 (November 22)
* Pan Am Flight 281 (November 24)
* Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 (December 2)
* Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 (December 24)
* Pan Am Flight 799 (December 26)
* Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (December 27)
* North Central Airlines Flight 458 (December 27)

1969|

* Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 (January 6)
* Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 (January 13)
* United Air Lines Flight 266 (January 18)
* Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 (February)
* Prinair Flight 277 (March 5)*
* Delta Air Lines Flight 821 (March 25)
* Dominicana de Aviación Flight 401 (June)
* TWA Flight 5787 (July)
* Newton Cessna 172 crash (August)
* Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (September)
* Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 (November)

This list is incomplete.
An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.
1950–1959 ◄ 1960–1969 ► 1970–1979
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