Investigation Summary
The flight originated in Boston and made a scheduled stop at Bradley Field. Upon arrival in the Albany area, the crew encountered weather conditions below landing minima and entered a holding pattern. After one aircraft successfully landed on Runway 19, Flight 723 was cleared for an instrument approach. However, at 08:19, the crew reported they were abandoning the approach because the flaps could not be lowered. At 08:30, the tower suggested a contact approach from the west for Runway 10, noting that visibility appeared better in that direction. The crew accepted this clearance. While executing a wide right turn to align with the runway, the aircraft descended into a local area of restricted visibility. The right wing struck the center tower of the WPTR radio array, followed by the left wing striking the east tower. The impact severed 7 feet of the right wing and 15 feet of the left wing, including the ailerons. The loss of control surfaces and lift caused the aircraft to roll and strike the ground in a partially inverted attitude.
Final Conclusions
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) determined the probable cause was the descent to an altitude below obstructions during a contact approach while maneuvering for runway alignment in a local area of restricted visibility. The investigation noted that the pilot should have abandoned the approach when visual reference could not be maintained. A contributing factor was the mechanical failure of the wing flap mechanism, which prevented the use of the standard instrument approach to Runway 19 and necessitated the more demanding contact approach to Runway 10.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Captain J. W. Stentz
First Officer
First Officer W. J. Schanken
Systems & Failure Modes
Wing Flap Mechanism
A mechanical failure in this system prevented the flaps from being lowered, forcing the crew to abandon their initial instrument approach.
Ailerons
Control surfaces on the outer wing panels; significant portions of both ailerons were lost during the tower strikes, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was named 'Flagship Bristol'.
- 02The aircraft struck the center and east towers of a three-tower radio array located approximately 5 km southwest of the airport.
- 03The radio towers were 365 feet tall, and the impact occurred at 308 feet above the ground.
- 04The wing flap mechanism was the only pre-impact mechanical failure identified by investigators.
- 05The aircraft narrowly missed a trailer park on the Albany-Schenectady Road during its final descent.
- 06Visibility at the time of the accident was reported as 1.5 miles in fog, but local obscurement existed near the towers.
- 07Passenger Samuel Bloom missed the flight due to heavy traffic; this was his second narrow escape from a transport disaster, having previously missed a ferry that later sank.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Adherence to Visual Reference Requirements
The investigation emphasized that pilots must abandon a contact approach immediately if adequate visual reference to the ground cannot be maintained, especially when maneuvering at low altitudes near known obstructions.