World Airways Flight 30
World Airways Flight 30 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF airliner which suffered a fatal accident upon landing at Boston Logan International Airport in Boston after departing Newark International Airport (now Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey on January 23, 1982. Two of the passengers were never found, and are presumed to have drowned.
 A World Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, similar to the one involved. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 23, 1982 |
| Summary | Runway overshoot |
| Site | Boston Logan Int'l Airport Boston, United States 42°21′03″N 70°59′23″W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF |
| Operator | World Airways |
| Registration | N113WA |
| Flight origin | Newark Liberty International Airport |
| Destination | Boston Logan International Airport |
| Occupants | 212 |
| Passengers | 200 |
| Crew | 12 |
| Injuries | 39 |
| Missing | 2 (presumed drowned) |
| Survivors | 210 |
Accident
World Airways Flight 30 was a regularly scheduled flight from Oakland to Boston via Newark. The first leg of the flight was uneventful. Flight 30 departed Newark under the command of Captain Peter Langley (58), First Officer Donald Hertzfeld (38), and Flight Engineer William Rodger (56).
The DC-10 touched down 2,800 feet (850 m) beyond the displaced threshold. Under normal circumstances, such an incident would have been of minor importance and the plane would have had sufficient space to come to a full stop on the 10,000 feet (3,000 m) long runway. However, the runway was covered in ice, and the braking action was poor to nil (though reported to the pilots as "fair to poor").
When it became apparent that the aircraft was not going to be able to stop on the runway, and since there was insufficient space remaining on the runway to take off again ("touch and go"), the pilots steered the plane off the runway in order to avoid hitting approach lights beyond the runway. The plane then skidded across a field and a taxiway before coming to rest in the 30 °F (−1 °C) waters of Boston Harbor.[1]
The part of the DC-10 that housed the aircraft cockpit and forward galley separated from the main body of the aircraft, submerging the first row of passenger seats. The three pilots, two flight attendants, and three passengers ended up in the water. 2 passengers were never found and are presumed dead.[1] The other 210 passengers and crew, among them documentarian and television show host Justine Shapiro, survived.[2]
References
- World Airways, Inc., Flight 30H, McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF, N113WA, Boston-Logan Int'l Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, Jan. 23, 1982 (Revised) Archived October 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (AAR-85-06) Aircraft accident report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, adopted July 10, 1985.
- 'Globe Trekker': South Africa
External links
 |