TWA Flight 891 was a

Lockheed L-1649A Starliner The Lockheed L-1649 Starliner is the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line of airliners. Powered by four Wright R-3350 Turbo-compound engines, it was built at Lockheed's Burbank, California plant from 1956 to 1958. Design and developm ...

that crashed not long after taking off from Milan

Malpensa Airport Milan Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi" is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of Ti ...

on 26 June 1959. All 68 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Flight

On 26 June 1959, TWA Flight 891 departed

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, with a crew of 9 and 59 passengers on board. Sixteen passengers were from Italy, four passengers and three crew members were from France, four came from the United Kingdom, two came from Chile, one each came from West Germany, Egypt and Israel with the remaining 30 passengers and 6 crew members being American. The flight had originated in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and had stopped in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

before flying on to Milan. The subsequent leg of the flight destination was to Paris'

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

. When Flight 891 departed Milan, light rain was falling with a low overcast and a ceiling of around 2,000 feet, with visibility of approximately two miles (3.2 km). There were also

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 ...

s in the area. Twelve minutes after takeoff, the flight crew reported the aircraft was climbing through 10,000 feet. A few minutes after that, the Starliner suffered structural failure and broke up in mid-air. Everyone on board was killed.Airliner Breaks Up In Storm, Killing 68: Plane bound for US hits near Milan
/ref> Flight 891 was the first fatal aviation accident involving a Lockheed Starliner. In terms of loss of life, it was also the worst air crash of 1959.

Cause

On 24 November 1960, an Italian inquiry board announced its finding that a

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

strike had brought down Flight 891. "The breaking-up in flight was due to the explosion of the fuel vapors contained in tank number 7, followed immediately by either an explosion of pressure or a further explosion in tank #6. In the absence of other significant concrete evidence, taking into account the stormy weather conditions, with frequent electric discharges, existing in the area at the time of the crash, it may be assumed that the explosion of the fuel vapors contained in tank #7 was set off, through the outlet pipes, by igniting of the

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

vapors issuing from these pipes as a consequence of

static electricity Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. The charge remains until it can move away by an electric current or electrical discharge. The word "static" is used to differentiate it from electric ...

discharges (streamer corona) which developed on the vent outlets."

References

External links

Final Accident report
by the Board of Inquiry, Italian Republic Ministry of Defense (English translation published by the

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 ...

)
Amendments to the Report
!--Also the English translation--> *
Website dedicated to the plane crash of Olgiate Olona of June 26, 1959 (TWA Flight 891).
{{coord, 45, 37, 39, N, 8, 53, 34, E, type:airport_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959 Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed Constellation Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight explosions Airliner accidents and incidents caused by lightning strikes 891 1959 in Italy 1959 meteorology

Flight

Cause

See also

References

External links