1961 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash

Air crash in Kentucky, U.S.

1961 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash
Accident
A C-54 similar to the accident aircraft
Date	November 14, 1961
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
Site	Hebron, Kentucky, U.S.
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-4
Operator	Zantop Air Transport
Registration	N30061
Flight origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupants	3
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Injuries	2
Survivors	3

A Zantop Air Transport Douglas DC-4 was on its final approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport runway 18 (now runway 18C), when it clipped some trees and crashed into a wooded area north of the airport. This was the first of at least three aircraft on their final approach that failed to reach runway 18 at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, becoming victims of the area's hilly terrain with steep changes in elevation from the Ohio River, the others being American Airlines Flight 383 and TWA Flight 128.

Crash

The pilot, Calvin Goutier, the co-pilot, Richard Breathren, and the unnamed flight engineer were flying from Detroit, Michigan, carrying automotive parts for General Motors Corporation to the airport for a routine landing while en route to Atlanta, Georgia. In the crash the fuselage broke into two pieces and the wreckage was strewn along a 400-foot (122-m) path. The crash occurred about 5:26 a.m.

The plane had been tracked by radar and suddenly disappeared from the radar screen, and airport authorities saw a large flash.

The crew exited through an escape hatch, surviving with minor injuries (Goutier a sprained ankle and Breathren a leg injury). They walked to Kentucky Route 20, about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) away, for help. A passing motorist, who worked for Delta Air Lines, noted a person walking out of the woods and continued driving to the airport. Later, Delta employees picked up the crew members.

Aircraft

The DC-4 aircraft involved was originally a United States Army Air Forces Douglas Skymaster, s/n 42-72226, which had been re-purchased by Douglas Aircraft Company on October 1, 1945, and reconfigured into a DC-4. On January 9, 1946, it was sold to United Airlines bearing US registration number N30061. United leased the airliner to Slick Airways on June 20, 1956. On June 4, 1959, it was sold to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, who leased it back to Slick Airways until June 1960. Zantop Air Transport bought the aircraft in June 1960 and operated it as a cargo plane until it crashed.

References

The Middletown Journal, November 14, 1961
Time (magazine)
Albuquerque Tribune, November 14, 1961
^ New Castle News, November 15, 1961
Albuquerque Journal, November 15, 1961
att.net Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

39°02′56″N 84°40′04″W / 39.04889°N 84.66778°W / 39.04889; -84.66778

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1961 (1961)
Jan 3 Aero Flight 311Jan 16 RAF Lakenheath nuclear weapons accidentsJan 19 Aeronaves de México Flight 401Jan 24 Goldsboro B-52 crashJan 24 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 424Jan 28 American Airlines Flight 1502Feb 3 Garuda Indonesia Flight 542Feb 15 Sabena Flight 548Mar 14 Yuba City B-52 crashMar 16 Aeroflot Flight 68Mar 28 ČSA Flight 511Apr 3 LAN-Chile Flight 621May 10 Air France Flight 406May 30 Viasa Flight 897Jun 12 KLM Flight 823Jul 11 United Air Lines Flight 859Jul 12 ČSA Flight 511Jul 19 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 644Jul 21 Alaska Airlines Flight 779Jul 30 Avion PirataAug 6 Malév C-47 crashAug 9 Holtaheia Vickers Viking crashSep 1 TWA Flight 529Sep 10 President Airlines DC-6 crashSep 12 Air France Flight 2005Sep 14 F-84 Thunderstreak incidentSep 17 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Sep 18 Transair Sweden DC-6 crashSep 23 Turkish Airlines Flight 835Oct 7 Derby Aviation crashNov 8 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8Nov 14 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crashNov 23 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 322Nov 30 Ansett-ANA Flight 325Dec 17 Aeroflot Flight 245Dec 21 British European Airways Flight 226Dec 31 Mineralnye Vody Il-18 crash
1960 ◄ ► 1962

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1961 (1961)

Jan 3 Aero Flight 311Jan 16 RAF Lakenheath nuclear weapons accidentsJan 19 Aeronaves de México Flight 401Jan 24 Goldsboro B-52 crashJan 24 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 424Jan 28 American Airlines Flight 1502Feb 3 Garuda Indonesia Flight 542Feb 15 Sabena Flight 548Mar 14 Yuba City B-52 crashMar 16 Aeroflot Flight 68Mar 28 ČSA Flight 511Apr 3 LAN-Chile Flight 621May 10 Air France Flight 406May 30 Viasa Flight 897Jun 12 KLM Flight 823Jul 11 United Air Lines Flight 859Jul 12 ČSA Flight 511Jul 19 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 644Jul 21 Alaska Airlines Flight 779Jul 30 Avion PirataAug 6 Malév C-47 crashAug 9 Holtaheia Vickers Viking crashSep 1 TWA Flight 529Sep 10 President Airlines DC-6 crashSep 12 Air France Flight 2005Sep 14 F-84 Thunderstreak incidentSep 17 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Sep 18 Transair Sweden DC-6 crashSep 23 Turkish Airlines Flight 835Oct 7 Derby Aviation crashNov 8 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8Nov 14 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crashNov 23 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 322Nov 30 Ansett-ANA Flight 325Dec 17 Aeroflot Flight 245Dec 21 British European Airways Flight 226Dec 31 Mineralnye Vody Il-18 crash

1960 ◄ ► 1962

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 1960) Capital Airlines Flight 20 (January 18 1960) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 (March 1960) Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 (July 1960) World Airways Flight 830 (September 1960)* Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (October 4 1960) Cal Poly football team (October 29 1960) New York mid-air collision (December 1960)
1961	Goldsboro B-52 crash (January 24 1961) American Airlines Flight 1502 (January 28 1961) Yuba City B-52 crash (March 1961) United Air Lines Flight 859 (July 11 1961) Alaska Airlines Flight 779 (July 21 1961) TWA Flight 529 (September 1 1961) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 (September 17 1961) Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 (November 8 1961) Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash (November 14 1961)
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 (March 1962) Continental Airlines Flight 11 (May 1962) Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 (July 1962) United Air Lines Flight 297 (November 23 1962) Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 (November 30 1962)
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 (January 1963) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 (February 1963) Camden PA-24 (March 1963) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 (June 1963) Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 (July 1963) Pan Am Flight 214 (December 1963)
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 crash (January 1964) Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (February 1964) Paradise Airlines Flight 901A (March 1964) Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 (May 1964) United Air Lines Flight 823 (July 1964) Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 (November 1964) Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 (December 1964)
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita (January 1965) Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 (February 1965) Pan Am Flight 843 (June 1965) Continental Airlines Flight 12 (July 1 1965) Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 (July 23 1965) United Air Lines Flight 389 (August 1965) American Airlines Flight 383 (November 8 1965) United Air Lines Flight 227 (November 11 1965) Carmel mid-air collision (December 1965)
1966	NASA T-38 crash (February 1966) American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D (April 1966) Braniff International Airways Flight 250 (August 1966) West Coast Airlines Flight 956 (October 1966)
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 (March 5 1967) TWA Flight 553 (March 9 1967) West Coast Airlines Flight 720 (March 10 1967) Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 (March 30 1967) Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 (June 1967) Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 (July 1967) Lake Erie skydiving disaster (August 1967) TWA Flight 159 (November 6 1967) X-15 Flight 3-65-97 (November 15 1967) TWA Flight 128 (November 20 1967)
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 (March 1968) Braniff International Airways Flight 352 (May 3 1968) Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 (May 22 1968) Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 (August 1968) Northeast Airlines Flight 946 (October 1968) Japan Air Lines Flight 2 (November 22 1968) Pan Am Flight 281 (November 24 1968) Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 (December 2 1968) Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 (December 24 1968) Pan Am Flight 799 (December 26 1968) Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 (December 27 1968) North Central Airlines Flight 458 (December 27 1968)
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 (January 6 1969) Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 (January 13 1969) United Air Lines Flight 266 (January 18 1969) Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 (February 1969) Prinair Flight 277 (March 5 1969)* Delta Air Lines Flight 821 (March 25 1969) TWA Flight 5787 (July 1969) Newton Cessna 172 crash (August 1969) Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 (September 1969) Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 (November 1969)
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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