Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708
Encyclopedia
Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 was a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight between Hawthorne Industrial Airport
, Nevada
(HTH) and Hollywood-Burbank Airport
, California
(BUR/KBUR), that crashed into the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States
, Mount Whitney
, near Lone Pine
, on February 18, 1969, killing all 35 passengers and crew on board.
, was operating on a visual flight rules
plan. It departed at 3:50 A.M. PST
and last contact was made at 4:06 A.M. when the flight spoke with the Tonopah Flight Service Station. One hour later, at 5:10 A.M., the plane hit a sheer cliff face on the East side of Mount Whitney
at 11,770 feet. The main body of the wreckage then slid down the cliff and stopped some 500 feet back from the cliff, where it caught fire. All 32 passengers and 3 crew were killed.
launched an extensive investigation upon the location of the wreckage. Its conclusions were as follows:
Hawthorne Industrial Airport
Hawthorne Industrial Airport , formerly known as Hawthorne Municipal Airport, is a county-owned public-use airport located one mile north of the central business district of Hawthorne, in Mineral County, Nevada, United States....
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
(HTH) and Hollywood-Burbank Airport
Bob Hope Airport
Bob Hope Airport is a public airport located 3 miles northwest of the central business district of Burbank, a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(BUR/KBUR), that crashed into the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
, Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...
, near Lone Pine
Lone Pine, California
Lone Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Lone Pine is located south-southeast of Independence, at an elevation of 3727 feet . The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the Owens Valley, near the...
, on February 18, 1969, killing all 35 passengers and crew on board.
History of flight
The aircraft, a Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
, was operating on a visual flight rules
Visual flight rules
Visual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
plan. It departed at 3:50 A.M. PST
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
and last contact was made at 4:06 A.M. when the flight spoke with the Tonopah Flight Service Station. One hour later, at 5:10 A.M., the plane hit a sheer cliff face on the East side of Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...
at 11,770 feet. The main body of the wreckage then slid down the cliff and stopped some 500 feet back from the cliff, where it caught fire. All 32 passengers and 3 crew were killed.
Search and rescue operation
Extensive searches from air and ground were launched after the aircraft went missing, but snow, low clouds, and mountainous terrain hampered the search. The aircraft was finally located on August 8, 1969. It is not thought that the delay had any impact on the lack of survivors as it is thought that all on board died on impact.Investigation
The NTSBNational Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
launched an extensive investigation upon the location of the wreckage. Its conclusions were as follows:
The accident was caused by the deviation from the prescribed route of flight, as authorized in the company's FAA-approved operations specifications, resulting in the aircraft being operated under IFR weather conditions, in high mountainous terrain, in an area where there was a lack of radio navigation aids. The weather was also a contributing factor.
External links
- Transcribed AP and UPI news articles from 1969 gendisasters.com - includes names of those on board
- Brief history of Hawthorne Nevada Airlines zoggavia.com - (later Nevada Airlines)