The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. With its fairly high

power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...

, huge propellers and very short wings (resulting in the majority of the wingspan being enveloped in

propwash A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slipst ...

), large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high altitude airfields. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Jet airliners soon supplanted

turboprops A turboprop is a gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. F ...

for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century. The airframe was also used as the basis for the

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the Lockheed ...

maritime patrol aircraft.

Development

By the mid-20th century, Lockheed had established a strong position in commercial airliner production with its

piston-engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all ...

d Constellation series. Further development brought

engines to the Constellation

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...

with the

Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation was a turboprop-powered version of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft family. Built in 1954 and 1955, the aircraft were used as prototypes for possible future military transport aircraft for both the Unite ...

. In 1951, Lockheed was approached by Capital Airlines to develop a new turboprop airliner, which was designated the YC-130, but no other carriers had any interest, so the design was dropped. Subsequently, Capital Airlines went on to order 60 British

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. T ...

s. In 1954, as a result of

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

' interest in developing a twin-engined aircraft, the idea resurfaced and the company offered a twin-engined design now designated the CL-303. This newer design was a high-wing type and would allow for 60 to 70 passengers. This design was also shelved for lack of interest from other carriers. The following year, American Airlines revised its requirement to a four-engine design for 75 passengers with range. Lockheed proposed a new design, the CL-310 with a low wing and four

Rolls-Royce Dart The Rolls-Royce RB.53 Dart is a turboprop engine designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce Limited. First run in 1946, it powered the Vickers Viscount on its maiden flight in 1948. A flight on July 29 of that year, which carried 14 paying passe ...

s or

Napier Eland The Napier Eland is a British turboshaft or turboprop gas-turbine engine built by Napier & Son in the early 1950s. Production of the Eland ceased in 1961 when the Napier company was taken over by Rolls-Royce Limited, Rolls-Royce. Design and d ...

s. The CL-310 design met the American Airlines requirements, but failed to meet those of another interested carrier,

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

. Its requirements were for a longer range, a minimum cruising speed of , and increased seating capacity to the 85-to-90-passenger level. Lockheed redesigned the CL-310 to use the Allison 501-D13 turboprop engine, a civilian version of the T56 developed for the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

military transport. The airframe was stretched to allow for more seats and handle the increased performance. This design was launched as the Model 188 with an order for 35 by American Airlines on June 8, 1955. This was followed by Eastern Air Lines with an order for 40 on September 27, 1955. The first aircraft took 26 months to complete, and by that time Lockheed had orders for 129. The prototype, a Model 188A, first flew on December 6, 1957, two months ahead of schedule. Lockheed was awarded a

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) on 22 August 1958. The first delivery – to Eastern Air Lines – was on October 8, 1958, but it did not enter service until January 12, 1959. Lockheed L188C PH-LLK KLM MAN 23

NWT Air Lockheed Electra at Vancouver Airport in August 1983

In 1957, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

issued a requirement for an advanced

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

. Lockheed proposed a development of the Electra that was later placed into production as the P-3 Orion, which had much greater success – the Orion has been in continual front-line service for more than 50 years.

Design

The Model 188 Electra is a low-wing cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

and a conventional tail. It has a cockpit crew of three and can carry 66 to 80 passengers in a mixed-class arrangement, although 98 could be carried in a high-density layout. The first variant was the Model 188A, followed by the longer-range 188C with room for more fuel and

maximum take-off weight The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. I ...

15000 KG / 33069 lbs.

Operational history

Civilian operations

was the launch customer.

Braniff Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

, and

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

followed. The Electra suffered a troubled start. Passengers of early aircraft complained of noise in the cabin forward of the wings, caused by propeller resonance. Lockheed redesigned the

engine nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a pylon or strut and the engine is know ...

s, tilting the engines upwards 3°. The changes were incorporated on the production line by mid-1959 or as modification kits for the aircraft already built, and resulted in improved performance and a better ride for passengers. Three aircraft were lost in fatal accidents between February 1959 and March 1960. After the third crash, the FAA limited the Electra's speed until the cause could be determined. After an extensive investigation, two of the crashes (in September 1959 and March 1960) were found to be caused by an engine-mount problem. The mounting of the gearbox cracked, and the reduced rigidity enabled a phenomenon called "whirl mode flutter" (analogous to the

precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In o ...

of a child's

spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be rotation, spun on its vertical Axis of rotation, axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will ...

as it slows down, an interaction of propellers with airflow) that affected the outboard engine nacelles. When the oscillation was transmitted to the wings and the flutter frequency decreased to a point where it was

resonant Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...

with the outer wing panels (at the same frequency, or harmonically related ones), violent up-and-down oscillation increased until the wings would tear off. The company implemented an expensive modification program (the Lockheed Electra Achievement Program, LEAP) in which the engine mounts and the wing structures supporting the mounts were strengthened, and some of the wing skins were replaced with thicker material. All Electras were modified by the factory at Lockheed's expense, with the modifications taking 20 days for each aircraft. The changes were incorporated in later aircraft as they were built. However, the damage had been done, and the public lost confidence in the type. This and the smaller jets that were being introduced eventually relegated Electras to the smallest airlines. Production ended in 1961 after 170 had been built. Losses to Lockheed have been estimated as high as $57 million, not counting an additional $55 million in lawsuits. Electras continued to carry passengers into the 1990s, but most now in use are freighters. Several airlines in the US flew Electras, but the only European airline to order the type from Lockheed was

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

, which used 12 between September 1959 and January 1969 in Europe and east to Saigon and Kuala Lumpur. Lockheed L-188C ZK-TEA ANZ

In the South Pacific,

Tasman Empire Airways Limited Tasman Empire Airways Limited (1940–1965), better known by its acronym TEAL, is the former name of Air New Zealand. TEAL was formed by the Intergovernmental Agreement for Tasman Sea Air Services (also known as the Tasman Sea Agreement), wh ...

(TEAL) and its successor

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

flew the Electra on trans-Tasman flights. In Australia

Trans Australia Airlines Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Bran ...

(TAA) and

Ansett Ansett Australia, originally Ansett Airways, was a major Australian airline group based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company operated domestically within Australia, and from the 1990s, to destinations in Asia. Following 65 years of operation, ...

each operated three Electras on trunk routes between the Australian mainland state capital cities, and later to

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, from 1959 until 1971. Ansett had its three Electras converted to freighters in 1970–71 and continued to fly them until 1984.

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

also operated four Electras on its routes to Hong Kong and Japan, to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, and to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

(until the New Guinea route was handed to Ansett and TAA); then later across the Indian Ocean to South Africa, and across the Tasman in competition with TEAL after that airline became 100% New Zealand-owned. The divestiture of TEAL's 50%-Australian shareholding was itself prompted by the Electra order, as TEAL wanted jet aircraft, but was forced by the Australian government to order Electras in order to standardise with Qantas. Three Qantas Electras were retired in the mid-1960s and the fourth in 1971. Some Electras were sold to South American airlines, where the Electra had highly successful operations, such as those of

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), internationally known as LAB Bolivian Airlines, was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. It was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca, a ...

and

Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas LAP - Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (also referred to as ''LAP'' and later LAPSA Air Paraguay) was a Paraguayan airline that was founded in November 1962 to be the flag carrier airline of Paraguay. Its main hub was Silvio Pettirossi International A ...

; in both cases, the Electra ensured the airlines' international operations before they started using jets. Most notably, Brazilian flag carrier airline

Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...

operated flawlessly a fleet of 14 Electras on the extremely busy

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

shuttle service (the so-called ''Ponte Aérea'' – or "Air Bridge" in Portuguese) for 30 years, completing over half a million flights on the route before the type was replaced by

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

and

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet that was produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 was based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay tur ...

jets in 1992. The Electra became so iconic on that route that its retirement caused a commotion in Brazil, with extensive press coverage and many special tributes. During the mid-1970s, several secondhand Electras were bought by travel clubs, including Nomads, Adventurers and Shillelaghs. Others were retired from passenger service into air-cargo use, 40 being modified by a subsidiary of Lockheed from 1968 with one or two large doors in the left side of the fuselage and a reinforced cabin floor. Air California and

Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost carrier, low-cost US airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was the first substantial scheduled low-cost carrier, discount airline. PSA called itself "Th ...

(PSA) were still operating Electras for scheduled passenger service during the late 1970s primarily into the Lake Tahoe Airport located in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

mountains of California, as this airfield had banned scheduled jet aircraft flights at the time.

Military use

In 1973, the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

bought three Electras equipped with cargo doors. These were used during the "

Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...

" to toss political prisoners into the

Rio de La Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

in the infamous

death flights Death flights () are a form of extrajudicial killing in which victims are dropped to their deaths from airplanes or helicopters and their bodies land in oceans, large rivers or mountains. Death flights have been carried out by governments durin ...

. The Electras were also used for transport duties during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

in 1982. In 1983, after the retirement of its last SP-2H Neptune, the Argentine Navy bought further civilian Electra airframes, modified several for

maritime patrol Maritime patrol or maritime reconnaissance is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to active ...

, and widely used them until their replacement by P-3s in 1994. One of the Argentine Navy's Electras, known locally as L-188E ''Electron'', is preserved at the Argentine Naval Aviation Museum (''Museo de la Aviación Naval'') at

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

Variants

; :Initial production version ;L-188AF (All Freight version) :Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ;L-188PF (Passenger-Freight version) :Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ; :Long-range version with increased fuel capacity ( fuel capacity from on L-188A) and a higher operating gross weight (Maximum takeoff weight is compared to of the "A" version). ;L-188CF :Unofficial designation for freighter conversion of L-188C carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ; YP-3A Orion :One Orion aerodynamic test bed, fuselage shortened by .

Operators

Current operators

By July 2018, only two Electras in the world were transporting cargo, both with

Buffalo Airways Buffalo Airways is a family-run airline based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, established in 1970. Buffalo Airways was launched by Bob Gauchie and later sold to one of his pilots, Joe McBryan (aka "Buffalo Joe"). It operates char ...

. Thirteen other aircraft remained in service as air tankers, nine with Air Spray (

aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...

) and four with Buffalo Airways (cargo/bulk fuel and aerial firefighting). As of 2024, no passenger flights are taken on Electras, with Air Spray and Buffalo Airways still operating 13 cargo and firefighting planes.

Former civilian operators

;Australia * Ansett Airlines *

;Austria *

Amerer Air Amerer Air was a cargo airline based in Linz, Austria. It was Austria's largest dedicated cargo airline, operating services from Linz and Cologne throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Its main base was Linz Airport. History The ...

;Bolivia *

;Brazil *

;Canada * Conair Group *International Jetair * Northwest Territorial Airways *

Nordair Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. History The airline operated from the 1940s to the 1980s. Initially, most of its business was international and transatlan ...

1972–1987 (

Canadian Airlines Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a major Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada ...

1987–1989) - 4 operated for

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

Ice Reconnaissance service 1970s–1989 ;Colombia *

SAM Colombia SAM (Spanish language, Spanish acronym: ''Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellín'') was a Colombian airline. With its main hub at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, SAM operated domestic and international routes and was a subsidiary of Avian ...

* Aerocondor Colombia * Aerocosta ;Republic of the Congo *

Trans Service Airlift Trans Service Airlift (TSA, French: ''Service de transport aérien'') was an airline based at N'djili Airport, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was privately owned and operated in years 1991–1998. Accidents and incidents *On Dece ...

;Costa Rica * Aero Servicios Puntarenas SA (APSA) *

Lacsa Avianca Costa Rica S.A., using callsign as LACSA (''Spanish: Lineas Aéreas Costarricenses S.A.''), minority owned by the Synergy Group, is the national airline of Costa Rica and is based in San José. It operates international scheduled service ...

;Ecuador *

Ecuatoriana de Aviación Empresa Ecuatoriana de Aviación, more commonly known as simply Ecuatoriana, was the national airline of Ecuador. The carrier had an operational hiatus between September 1993 and August 1995, resuming operations on 23 June 1996, after VASP beca ...

* Transportes Aereos Nacionales Ecuatorianos (TAME) ;El Salvador *

TACA International Airlines Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano, S.A. (Spanish language, Spanish for "Air Transport of the American Continent"), known and formerly branded as TACA International Airlines), and operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned ...

;Guyana * Guyana Airways ;Honduras *

SAHSA ''Servicio Aéreo de Honduras S.A.'' , otherwise known as SAHSA Airlines, was the national flag carrier airline of Honduras from October 22, 1945, to January 14, 1994. The airline was a subsidiary of Pan American Airways and merged with '' Tr ...

*Transportes Aereos Nacionales (TAN Airlines) ;Hong Kong *

Cathay Pacific Airways Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

;Indonesia * Garuda Indonesia Airlines *

Mandala Airlines Tigerair Mandala (formerly Mandala Airlines) was a low-cost carrier headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was founded in 1969 as a full service airline by members of the Indonesian military. In 2006, as part of the ongoing reforms, the militar ...

;Ireland *

Hunting Cargo Airlines Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

;Laos * Royal Air Lao ;Mexico *

Banco de México The Bank of Mexico (), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in th ...

(corporate aircraft) *Mex-Jet Cargo (all cargo freighter version) ;Netherlands *

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

Martinair Martinair (legally ''Martinair Holland N.V.'') is a Dutch cargo and former passenger airline headquartered and based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airline was founded in 1958 by Martin Schröder (aviator), Martin Schröder, and is currently ...

;Netherlands Antilles *

Air ALM ALM Antillean Airlines (), and later Air ALM, was the main airline of the Netherlands Antilles between its foundation in 1964 and its shut-down in 2001, operating out of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. It was based at Hato International Airport. H ...

(all cargo freighter version) ;Norway * Fred. Olsen AirtransportHagby 1998, p. 55. * Nordic Air ;New Zealand *

TEAL alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'')—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used ...

;Panama *

Copa Airlines Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., branded as Copa Airlines, is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and a member o ...

;Paraguay *

;Peru * Líneas Aéreas Nacionales SA ;Philippines * Air Manila International ;Sweden *

Falcon Air Falcon Air was a cargo and passenger airline based in Malmö, Sweden. It operated mail transport services at night and day flights on contract for FlyMe. Its main base was Malmö/Sturup Airport. It should not be confused with Falconair, wh ...

West Air Sweden West Air Sweden, operating as West Atlantic, is a cargo airline based in Malmö, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flights for different postal serv ...

;Taiwan * Winner Airways (one L-188A leased from

for two months in 1970) ;United Kingdom * Air Bridge Carriers * Atlantic Airlines *

Channel Express Channel Express (Air Services) Limited was an airline with its head office in Building 470 at Bournemouth Airport in Christchurch, Dorset, near Bournemouth.Air California *

Air Florida Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated under its own brand from 1972 to 1984. During the period from 1972 to 1978 Air Florida was an intrastate airline. Until a high-profile 1982 aircraft crash in Washington DC, Air Florida ...

* American Flyers Airline *

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

* Denver Ports of Call *

Evergreen International Airlines Evergreen International Airlines was a charter and cargo airline based in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. Wholly owned by Evergreen International Aviation, it had longstanding ties to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It operated con ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

* Fleming International Airways * Fairbanks Air Service * Great Northern Airlines * Gulf Air Transport *

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. ( ) is a commercial U.S. airline headquartered in Honolulu, and a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaiʻi, and the tenth largest ...

(in cargo service) * Holiday Airlines *

Intermountain Airlines Intermountain Airlines, also known as Intermountain Aviation and Intermountain Airways, was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) airline front company. Intermountain performed covert operations for the CIA in Southeast Asia and elsewhere during t ...

Johnson International Airlines Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English *Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011), ...

* McCulloch International Airlines * McCulloch Properties *

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

* National Airlines *

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...

Overseas National Airways Overseas National Airways (ONA) was a supplemental air carrier (also known as an irregular air carrier or a non-scheduled carrier) during the period in which the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now defunct United States Federal agency, tightly ...

Reeve Aleutian Airways Reeve Aleutian Airways was an airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It ceased operations on December 5, 2000. Reeve Aleutian was named, possibly as a pun on the word revolution, by combining founder Rober ...

(passenger/cargo " Combi" versions) * Renown Aviation *

Saturn Airways Saturn Airways was a United States, US supplemental air carrier, overseen by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transport. Saturn merged into Trans Internation ...

*Shillelagh Travel Club *

Southeast Airlines Southeast Airlines was established in 1993 as Sun Jet International and was founded by Tom Kolfenbach. It was a low fare public charter airline which operated scheduled passenger service in the United States, headquartered in Largo, Florida, fl ...

* Trans International Airlines, later became

Transamerica Airlines Trans International Airlines (TIA) started as a United States supplemental air carrier. From 1964, such carriers were simply charter carriers, but until 1964 they also had the ability to fly a limited amount of scheduled service. After US air ...

* Trans International Airlines (1985–1989) * TPI International Airways *

Universal Airlines (United States) Universal Airlines was a United States supplemental air carrier that operated from 1966 to 1972, based initially at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and later at Oakland International Airport in California. Universal was a re-naming of ...

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mex ...

Zantop International Airlines Zantop International Airlines, Inc. was a United States charter operator, originally uncertificated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transport. ZIA escape ...

;Zaire *

Karibu Airways Karibu Airways was an airline in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It stood on the List of air carriers banned in the EU. Due to two plane crashes in 2007 (see below) the confidence in the airline was lost. Subsequently, all operations c ...

Military operators

;Argentina *

Argentine Naval Aviation The Argentine Naval Aviation (', COAN) is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands. Argentina, along with Brazilian Navy, Brazil is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft c ...

;Bolivia *

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force (BAF; or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft ( Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Condor II and Junkers ...

– 1 from 1973, still in use in 1987. ;Ecuador *

TAME Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals * River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley * Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 a ...

;Honduras *

Honduran Air Force The Honduras Air Force (, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces. History The first Honduras military flying took place on 18 April 1921 in a Bristo ...

– one 188A from 1979 ;Mexico *

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...

– one 188A from 1978 to 1987. ;Panama * Panamanian Air Force – One 188C from 1973 to 1984.

Orders

;Model 188A *

ordered 40 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and August 1959, the last five as 188Cs. *

ordered 35 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and March 1960. * National Airlines ordered 14 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1961. * Ansett-ANA ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia in February 1959, April 1959 and February 1960. *

Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

ordered nine 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1960. *

ordered 12 188As which were delivered between May 1959 and February 1961. *

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

ordered two 188As which were delivered in 1959. *

ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia between June 1959 and August 1960. *

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

ordered one 188A which was delivered in July 1958. ;Model 188C * Northwest Orient Airlines ordered 18 188Cs which were delivered between July 1959 and June 1961. *

ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in November and December 1959. * Capital Airlines ordered five 188Cs but later cancelled the order. The five aircraft were sold to other operators. *

ordered four 188Cs which were delivered between October and December 1959. *

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

ordered 12 188Cs which were delivered between September 1959 and December 1960. * Tasman Empire Airways ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in October and December 1959. *

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in January 1961.

Aircraft on display

*s/no. 1003 ex

''N428NA''. This was the first P-3

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

prototype. It was converted from an existing L188 Electra airframe into the YP3V-1/YP-3A Orion. It was later converted into the NP-3A by

United States Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

, then used by NASA for the Earth Resources Observation Program. Preserved at the

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...

, Forrest Sherman Field,

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. *s/no. 1025 ex

''PP-VJM''; preserved at the

Museu Aeroespacial Museu Aeroespacial is a national aviation museum located in the West Side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Pau ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *s/no. 1125 TAM69, in TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar colors at the Bolivia Aeronautical Museum, El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia. * ex Argentine Navy ''6-P-104'', converted to L-188EW WAVE, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval,

Bahia Blanca Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Argentina. * ex Argentine Navy ''6-P-106'', converted to L-188E Electron, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval, Comandante Espora Air Naval Base, Bahia Blanca.

Accidents and incidents

Of the total of 170 Electras built, as of June 2011, 58 have been written off because of crashes and other accidents. * February 3, 1959:

American Airlines Flight 320 American Airlines Flight 320 was a scheduled flight between Chicago Midway Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport. On February 3, 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra performing the flight crashed into the East River during its approach to L ...

en route from Chicago to New York City's LaGuardia Airport crashed on approach, 65 of 73 on board died. * September 29, 1959: Braniff International Airways Flight 542 crashed near

Buffalo, Texas Buffalo is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.50%) is water. Demogr ...

, en route to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. All 29 passengers and five crew members died in the crash. The Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the crash on the "whirl-mode" prop theory and in-flight separation of a wing from the aircraft. * March 17, 1960: Northwest Orient Flight 710, en route from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, broke apart in flight over

Perry County, Indiana Perry County is a County (United States), county located in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 19,170. The county seat is Tell City, Indiana, Tell City. It is the hilliest co ...

, in the second "whirl-mode" crash. All 63 people on board died (57 passengers and six crew members). * September 14, 1960: An Electra operated as American Airlines Flight 361 caught its landing gear on a dike while landing at

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

. The aircraft came to rest upside down. There were no fatalities among the 76 occupants (70 passengers, six crew). * October 4, 1960: Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 crashed on takeoff from

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

; 62 of 72 on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of bird ingestion into three of the four engines. * June 12, 1961: KLM Flight 823 crashed short of the runway on approach to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

; 20 of the 36 on board died. * September 17, 1961: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashed on takeoff from Chicago-

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

; all 37 on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of mechanical failure in the aileron primary control system due to the improper replacement of the aileron boost assembly. * March 27, 1965: While on a training flight, a Tasman Empire Airways L-188 crashed while landing at

Whenuapai Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the shore of the Upper Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of the l ...

airport in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Although the aircraft was completely destroyed, all occupants escaped with only one minor injury. * April 22, 1966:

American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D was a flight operated on a U.S. Military Air Command contract from Monterey Regional Airport in California to Columbus Airport in Georgia, via Ardmore Municipal Airport, Oklahoma. On April 22, 1966, while a ...

crashed into a hill on approach to Ardmore Municipal Airport in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

; all five crew and 78 of the 93 passengers on board died. * February 16, 1967: Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 708 crashed while attempting to land at Manado-Sam Ratulangi Airport. A total of 22 of 92 passengers and crew on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of an awkward landing technique resulting in an excessive rate of sink on touchdown. Marginal weather at the time of landing was a contributing factor. * May 3, 1968: Braniff International Airways Flight 352, en route from

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, disintegrated over

Dawson, Texas Dawson is a town in Navarro County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 815 at the 2020 census. History The town was established in 1847 and was the second town established in the county. Geography According to the United States ...

. All 80 passengers and five crew members died. This was the deadliest aviation disaster in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

at the time. The

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

found the

probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...

to be overstressing of the structure beyond its ultimate strength during attempted recovery from unusual aircraft attitude produced by

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...

of a

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

. * August 9, 1970: LANSA Flight 502 crashed shortly after takeoff from Quispiquilla Airport near

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, Peru; 99 of the 100 people on board, plus two people on the ground, died. The co-pilot was the only survivor. * August 24, 1970 Universal Airlines L-188C N855U departed

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

on an Air Force Logair flight to

Mountain Home Air Force Base Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the Western United States, western United States. Located in Southwestern Idaho, southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, Idaho, Elmore County, the base is southwest ...

in Idaho. The aircraft departed without all its hydraulic systems in operation, leaving insufficient elevator authority, resulting in the aircraft nosing over into the ground. The aircraft was destroyed but the crew escaped with injuries. The investigation found fault with the captain and flight engineer for not following approved procedures and directives. * December 24, 1971:

LANSA Flight 508 LANSA Flight 508 was a Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop operated as a scheduled domestic passenger flight by Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anonima (LANSA, a Peruvian airline company) that crashed in a thunderstorm en route from Lima to P ...

, en route from

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

to Pucallpa, Peru, entered an area of strong turbulence and lightning and disintegrated in midair due to structural failure following a lightning strike and fire. Of the 92 people on board, 91 died. One passenger,

Juliane Koepcke Juliane Margaret Beate Koepcke (born 10 October 1954), is a German-Peruvian mammalogist who specialises in bats. She is the daughter of German zoologists Maria and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke and sole survivor of the 1971 LANSA Flight 508 crash. ...

, survived when trees cushioned her fall into the rainforest. * March 19, 1972 Universal Airlines L-188C N851U was on a ferry flight from

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

when it developed an engine overspeed issue, complicated by an inability to feather. The aircraft landed at Hill just after midnight, whereupon the engine exploded, destroying a large portion of the left wing and causing a substantial fire. The crew had minor injuries but the aircraft was a writeoff. The crew was cited in the investigation for improper procedures. * August 27, 1973: A Lockheed L-188A Electra passenger plane (HK-777) operated by Aerocondor was destroyed when it flew into the side of the Cerro el Cable mountain shortly after takeoff from Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG), Colombia. All 36 passengers and six crew members died. * October 30, 1974: On approach to Rea Point Airfield on Melville Island, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada, Panarctic Oils Flight 416 crashed into the ice-covered sea some 3 km south of its destination after the pilot-in-command abruptly increased the rate of descent in apparent disorientation. All 30 passengers and two of the four crew members, including the pilot-in-command, died. * June 4, 1976: Air Manila Flight 702, an L-188A (RP-C1061), crashed just after takeoff from the Guam Naval Air Station; the 45 occupants and one person on the ground died. * On November 18, 1979, L-188 (N859U), operating a flight for the US military (Logair 3N18) from Hill Air Force Base, crashed near Salt Lake City airport, Utah. While climbing between 12,000 and 13,000 ft, all electrical power was lost; the crew requested an immediate descent. The aircraft attained a high airspeed and a high rate of descent and the aircraft disintegrated in flight; all three crew members died. The NTSB investigation stated the probable cause was a progressive failure of the aircraft electrical system leading to the disabling or erratic performance of flight critical flight instruments and lighting. As a result, the crew became disoriented and lost control of the aircraft. The crew's efforts to regain control of the aircraft imposed loads which exceeded the design limits and caused it to break up in flight. This was the third Universal Airlines Electra to be destroyed in connection with

(inherited by Trans International from

). See August 24, 1970 and March 19, 1972. * January 8, 1981, a

L-188A in Guatemala City, killing all six crew members on board. *On 8 June 1983,

Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 was an American domestic flight from Cold Bay, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, on June 8, 1983. Shortly after takeoff, the Lockheed L-188 Electra of Reeve Aleutian Airways was travelling over the Pacific Ocean whe ...

's number-four propeller separated from the aircraft and tore a hole in the fuselage over the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

causing a rapid decompression and loss of control. The pilots managed to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska and all 15 passengers and crew survived. Since the propeller fell into the sea and was never recovered, the cause of the separation is unknown. * May 30, 1984,

Flight 931, a Lockheed L-188AF Electra (N5523) flying regularly scheduled cargo service from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) to Detroit-Willow Run Airport (YIP), crashed at Chalkhill, Pennsylvania; all three crew members and the sole passenger died. While cruising at FL220, at approximately 01:44 AM, the aircraft entered an unusual attitude shortly after a course change. During efforts to recover the aircraft the pilots imposed loads on the airframe that exceeded the aircraft's design limits and it broke apart at altitude. NTSB reported that in-flight problems with the aircraft's gyros likely provided conflicting attitude data to the flight crew at the time of the upset and this, combined with a lack of visual cues, were contributing causes of the accident. * January 21, 1985: Chartered

Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 was a Lockheed L-188 Electra 4-engine turboprop, registration N5532, operating as a non-scheduled charter flight from Reno, Nevada to Minneapolis/St Paul, which crashed on January 21, 1985, shortly after takeoff. All b ...

crashed after takeoff from Reno-Cannon International Airport en route to Minneapolis–St Paul Minnesota; 70 of the 71 people on board died. * September 12, 1988: A Tame Ecuador L-188A Electra, registration HC-AZY, crashed near Lago Agrio Airport shortly after takeoff; six crew and one passenger died. * September 4, 1989: A Tame Ecuador L-188C Electra, registration HC-AZJ, crash-landed at Taura AFB with no fatalities. * December 18, 1995: An overloaded 188C of Trans Service Airlift crashed near Cahungula, Angola, with the loss of 141 of the 144 occupants. This is the deadliest aviation disaster involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra. * February 8, 1999: An Air Karibu L-188 (9Q-CDI) after takeoff from

N'djili Airport N'djili Airport ( ), also known as N'Djili International Airport and Kinshasa International Airport (French language, French ''Aéroport international de N'Djili'' or ''Aéroport international de Kinshasa''), serves the city of Kinshasa and is ...

killing all seven crew members. The aircraft had been overloaded, and the flight engineer was serving as a co-pilot because no other co-pilots were present. A ground mechanic took the flight engineer's place. * October 16, 2000: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #88 C-FQYB) was destroyed in a fire at Air Spray’s maintenance facility in Red Deer, Alberta. Many other WW2 era planes were also consumed amidst the blaze. * July 16, 2003: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #86 C-GFQA) crashed and was destroyed near Cranbrook, British Columbia shortly after delivering the retardant load. Tanker 86 was seen to turn right initially, then entered a turn to the left. At 1221 MST, the Electra struck the terrain on the side of a steep ridge at about 3900 feet above sea level. The aircraft exploded on impact and the two pilots died. An intense post-crash fire consumed much of the wreckage and started a forest fire at the crash site and the surrounding area.

Specifications (Model 188A)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* "2010 World Airliner Census". ''Flight International'', August 24–30, 2010, pp. 29–49.
"2011 World Airliner Census". ''Flight International''

''

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

'', February 13, 1959, p. 231. * Allen, Eric. ''Airliners in Australian Service, Volume 1.'' Weston Creek ACT: Aerospace Publications, 1995. . * Brimson, Samuel. ''Flying the Royal Mail: The History of Australia's Airlines''. Sydney, Australia: Dreamweaver Books, 1984. . * Eastwood, Tony; Roach, John. ''Turbo Prop Airliner Production List.'' West Drayton, Middlesex, UK: The Aviation Hobby Shop, 1990. . * . * Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. London: Putnam, 1982. . * Hagby, Kay
''Fra Nielsen & Winther til Boeing 747'' (in Norwegian).
Drammen, Norway. Hagby, 1998. . * * Siegrist, Martin. "Bolivian Air Power — Seventy Years On". ''

Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fir ...

'', Vol. 33, No. 4, October 1987. pp. 170–176, 194. . * * * * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1961–62''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., 1961.

External links

Information, Pictures and Production List

Kiwanis Electra Memorial website

NTSB Report on 1968 Braniff N9707C Crash

a 1955 ''Flight'' article {{Authority control L-0188 Electra 1950s United States airliners Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Four-engined turboprop aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1957 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear

Development

Design

Operational history

Civilian operations

Military use

Variants

Operators

Current operators

Former civilian operators

Military operators

Orders

Aircraft on display

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (Model 188A)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links