12 Vol. 10 / No. 5 / May 2018 Global Aviator
Airline accidents
Thursday, 12 December
1985 was a dreary winter
morning, not just because of
the weather but also because
a McDonnell Douglas DC-
aircraft carrying 256 people,
crashed, killing all on board.As of December 2015, it was the
highest death toll of any aviation
accident on Canadian soil and also the
second highest involving a DC-8, behind
the crash of Nigeria Airways Flight
2120, which occurred six years later.
It is also still considered as one of the
most deadly plane crashes in history,
as well as one of the worst peacetime
accidents in US military history.
Arrow Air Flight 1285 was a
McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF. The
airplane with registration number
N950JW and Flight number MF1285R,
operated as an international charter
flight carrying US troops from Cairo,
Egypt to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Arrow Air had been hired by the
Multinational Force and Observers(MFO). In the 70’s and 80’s it wasn’t
unusual for the government to contract
with civilian airlines to transport troops.
Almost all the passengers were
members of the 101st Airborne
Division, known as the Screaming
Eagles. They had just completed a
six-month deployment in the Sinai (in
the Multinational Force and Observers
peacekeeping mission), and as expected,
they were all anxious to get back
home to their loved ones to enjoy the
holidays. The flight from Cairo to
Fort Campbell was made up of three
legs, with refuelling stops in Cologne
and Gander. The flight departed from
Cairo arriving at Cologne at 01h21,
where a crew change took place. The
new crew consisted of: Captain John
Griffin, first officer John Robert Connelly
and flight engineer Michael Fowler.
At approximately 05h34 local
time, they arrive at Gander Airport,
where the plane stopped to refuel.
It was a cold morning with freezing
drizzle, although only a trace (less than
0.01 inches) was observed. While on
the ground waiting for the plane tobe refuelled, the crew went through
a series of checklists and while busy
doing that, the flight engineer stepped
out to inspect the exterior of the plane- looking for any damage, build-up of
ice etc. He found nothing unusual so
it was decided that no de-icing would
be necessary. During taxiing, there was
a last minute change that put Arrow
Air on Runway 22, a different runway
than originally planned. But since
Runway 22 was the longest runway at
Gander, this should not be a problem.
With the airspeed indicator set, the
aircraft proceeded down the runway,
for take-off. (On the airspeed indicator
is a marker that reminds the crew of the
exact speed they must reach in order to
get the plane off the ground). The plane
rotated near taxiway ‘A’, 51 seconds after
brake release at an airspeed of about 167
KIAS. (Knots Indicated Air Speed). After
the plane was airborne, the airspeed
reached 172 KIAS, and began to decrease
again, causing the DC-8 to descend.
The plane crossed the Trans-Canada
Highway (which is located only about
900 feet (270m) from the departure end
of runway 22) at a very low altitude.
The pitch angle increased and
with that the plane continued to
descend until it struck a down sloping
terrain, broke up and burst into
flames. Emergency crews at Gander
rushed to the crash site, but what
they found was a field of wreckage,
bodies and personal belongings. After
Arrow Air Flight 1285
Icing or In-Flight Explosion
by Yolandie De Yager