 N90773, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in August 1961 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 September 1961 (1961-09-10) |
| Summary | Instrument failure and bad weather leading to a loss of control |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-6B |
| Aircraft name | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Operator | President Airlines |
| Registration | N90773 |
| Flight origin | Düsseldorf Airport,Düsseldorf, West Germany |
| Stopover | Shannon Airport,Shannon, County Clare, Ireland |
| Last stopover | Gander International Airport,Gander, Newfoundland, Canada |
| Destination | Chicago O'Hare International Airport,Chicago,Illinois, United States |
| Occupants | 83 |
| Passengers | 77 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 83 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The1961 President Airlines Douglas DC-6 crash occurred on the night of September 10, 1961, when a President AirlinesDouglas DC-6B namedTheodore Roosevelt[1] outbound fromShannon, Ireland crashed into the nearbyRiver Shannon shortly after takeoff, killing all 83 people on board. To date, the crash remains the deadliest one in Irish territory.
President Airlines was asupplemental air carrier (at the time, a charter/scheduled airline hybrid), that in 1960 bought the airline certificate ofCalifornia Eastern Airways, a carrier that had mainly operated under contract for the US government.[2] The airline went out of business shortly after this accident.[citation needed]
The aircraft involved was a Douglas DC-6B registered as N90773. It first flew in 1953 and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines. The aircraft's occupants on the accident flight consisted of 77 passengers and 6 crew members.[3]
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The aircraft was on a non-scheduled international passenger flight fromDüsseldorf, Germany toChicago with stopovers in Shannon andGander,Newfoundland for refueling.[citation needed] Shortly after takeoff from Shannon Airport's runway 24, the pilots were cleared for a right-hand turn, but they instead turned left and kept turning until the aircraft had reached a bank angle of about 90 degrees or more.[citation needed] Unable to recover, the aircraft plummeted into the River Shannon 5,000 ft. from the end of the runway.[citation needed] There were no survivors among the 83 passengers and crew.[citation needed]
Subsequent investigations indicate that the crash probably resulted from a malfunctioningattitude indicator, a fault in the starboardailerons, or both. Poor weather conditions and crew fatigue were also cited as possible contributing factors.[3][4]
52°40′47″N8°56′35″W / 52.6797°N 8.9430°W /52.6797; -8.9430