Investigation Summary
The accident was characterized by a cascading failure of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines caused by atmospheric icing. While cruising at 8,000 feet, the aircraft entered icing conditions that initially caused two engines to fail. As the crew attempted to manage the situation, the remaining two engines also succumbed to ice ingestion, causing all four propellers to autofeather. The crew attempted to unfeather the propellers and restart the engines, but they were hampered by existing emergency procedures that suggested descending to warmer air for relighting. In a final effort to force the propellers out of their feathered positions, the pilots put the aircraft into a steep dive. They successfully restarted engine number four, but the application of full power to a single engine at low altitude led to a loss of directional control. The aircraft impacted the ground in a nearly vertical, flat attitude in a swampy area near Sandy Gut, a tributary of the Chickahominy River.
Final Conclusions
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) attributed the crash to the crew's delay in arming the engine ice protection systems while flying in icing conditions, which was consistent with then-current Capital Airlines policy. This delay allowed ice to accumulate and cause a total power loss. The investigation also highlighted that the emergency checklist instructions, which directed pilots to descend to warmer altitudes to relight engines, were counterproductive in this scenario.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
James B. Fornasero
First Officer
Philip Henry Cullom
Systems & Failure Modes
Engine Ice Protection System
A system designed to prevent ice buildup on the engine inlets and internal components; its delayed activation led to the total engine failure.
Autofeather System
A safety feature that automatically turns propeller blades edge-on to the airflow to reduce drag if an engine fails; in this case, all four propellers feathered, making a restart difficult.
Interesting Facts
- 01The accident was the fourth fatal crash involving a Capital Airlines Vickers Viscount in less than two years.
- 02The aircraft crashed with almost no forward velocity, driving five trees through the fuselage while their trunks remained intact.
- 03Heavy fog and treacherous swampy terrain significantly hampered initial rescue and firefighting efforts.
- 04The flight originated in Chicago and had a scheduled stopover in Washington D.C. (where the airport was open) before the final leg to Norfolk.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Emergency Checklist Revision
Capital Airlines revised its emergency procedures to delete the instruction to descend to warmer air for engine relights, instead advising that engines could be restarted at any height if correct procedures were followed.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the entered by an editor.