Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 was a scheduled
passenger flight from
Rochester-Monroe Airport in Rochester, New York to
Newark International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union County, in the U.S. sta ...
in Newark, New Jersey. On July 2, 1963, the aircraft operating the flight, a
Martin 4-0-4 with a total of 15,970 operational hours, crashed during
takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...
. The accident killed 7 people (2 crewmen and 5 passengers) and injured 36.
Flight 112 attempted to take off on Rochester's runway 28 into a heavy
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 ...
. The
co-pilot was unable to maintain control of the aircraft, and it fell to earth two minutes after takeoff. The plane struck the ground left wing-first. It then cartwheeled wing-over-wing and caught fire.
The co-pilot was flying the plane from the left seat in violation of company policy. Both pilots working together were unable to control the plane, as the wind had shifted from a headwind to a tailwind.
The Civil Aeronautics Board found the cause of the accident to be the pilot's decision to take off in bad weather, and cited the weather itself as a contributing factor.
References
*
420 F.2d 115 136 U.S.App.D.C. 273 Joan S. NEFF, Administratrix of the Estate of John W. Neff v.UNITED STATES of America, Appellant. No. 22262. United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit.
External links
Final report
- Civil Aeronautics Board
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services (including scheduled passe ...
1963 Mohawk Airlines Crash
a
Monroe County Airport Professional Firefighters
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1960s
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
Accidents and incidents involving the Martin 4-0-4
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1963
1963 in New York (state)
Mohawk Airlines accidents and incidents
Airliner accidents and incidents in New York (state)
History of Rochester, New York
1963 meteorology
July 1963 in the United States
20th century in Rochester, New York