United Airlines Flight 266
Encyclopedia
United Airlines
Flight 266 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport
, Los Angeles, California
to General Mitchell International Airport
, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
via Stapleton International Airport
, Denver, Colorado
with 38 on board. On January 18, 1969 at approximately 18:21 PST it crashed into Santa Monica Bay
, Pacific Ocean
about 11.5 miles west of Los Angeles International Airport
four minutes after takeoff.
Rescuers (at the time) speculated that an explosion occurred aboard the plane, a Boeing 727. Three and a half hours after the crash three bodies had been found in the ocean along with parts of fuselage and a United States mail bag carrying letters with that day's postmark. Hope was dim for survivors because United's domestic flights do not
carry liferafts or lifejackets. A Coast Guard spokesman said it looked "very doubtful that there could be anybody alive."
United still uses "Flight 266" designation today on its San Francisco-Chicago(O'Hare) route.
With the loss of all power to the lights and flight attitude instruments, while flying at night in instrument conditions, the pilots quickly became spatially disorientated and utterly helpless to know what inputs to the flight controls were necessary to keep the plane flying in the normal, upright attitude. Consequently they lost complete control of the aircraft and it crashed while in an abnormal attitude, killing all 38 aboard.
At the time, a battery powered back-up source for critical flight instruments was not required on commercial aircraft. The accident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration
to require all transport category aircraft to have new backup instrumentation installed, and powered by a source independent of the generators.
On January 13, 1969, just five days before the crash of United Flight 266, a Scandinavian Airlines DC-8
on final approach to Los Angeles International also crashed into Santa Monica Bay. The jet broke in half on impact, killing 15. Thirty people survived in a portion of the fuselage that remained afloat.
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
Flight 266 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
to General Mitchell International Airport
General Mitchell International Airport
General Mitchell International Airport is a county-owned public airport located five miles south of the central business district of Milwaukee, a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States....
, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
via Stapleton International Airport
Stapleton International Airport
Stapleton International Airport was Denver, Colorado's primary airport from 1929 to 1995. At different times it served as a hub for TWA, People Express, Frontier Airlines and Western Airlines as well as a hub for Continental Airlines and United Airlines at the time of its closure.In 1995 Stapleton...
, Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
with 38 on board. On January 18, 1969 at approximately 18:21 PST it crashed into Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
, Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
about 11.5 miles west of Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
four minutes after takeoff.
Rescuers (at the time) speculated that an explosion occurred aboard the plane, a Boeing 727. Three and a half hours after the crash three bodies had been found in the ocean along with parts of fuselage and a United States mail bag carrying letters with that day's postmark. Hope was dim for survivors because United's domestic flights do not
carry liferafts or lifejackets. A Coast Guard spokesman said it looked "very doubtful that there could be anybody alive."
United still uses "Flight 266" designation today on its San Francisco-Chicago(O'Hare) route.
Accident
Two minutes into the flight, the pilots reported a fire warning for the No. 1 engine and that they were shutting it down. That action also shut down the generator on the No. 1 engine. Since the plane "...had been operating for 42 flight hours prior to the accident with the No. 3 generator inoperative, as allowed by the Minimum Equipment list," that left the No. 2 engine generator as the sole source for all electrical power on the aircraft. "Shortly a f t e r shutdown of the No. 1 engine, electrical power from the remaining generator (No. 2) was l o s t." All of the available evidence produced during the course of the investigation, did not enable the NTSB to determine why the number two generator also failed, after it became the sole source of power for the plane, nor why the "standby electrical system either was not activated or failed to function."With the loss of all power to the lights and flight attitude instruments, while flying at night in instrument conditions, the pilots quickly became spatially disorientated and utterly helpless to know what inputs to the flight controls were necessary to keep the plane flying in the normal, upright attitude. Consequently they lost complete control of the aircraft and it crashed while in an abnormal attitude, killing all 38 aboard.
At the time, a battery powered back-up source for critical flight instruments was not required on commercial aircraft. The accident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
to require all transport category aircraft to have new backup instrumentation installed, and powered by a source independent of the generators.
Probable Cause
-
- The Board determines that the probable cause of t h i s accident was loss of attitude orientation during a night, instrument departure in which the attitude instruments were disabled by loss of electrical power. The Board has been unable to determine (a) why all generator power was lost or (b) why the standby electrical power system either was not activated failed to function.
On January 13, 1969, just five days before the crash of United Flight 266, a Scandinavian Airlines DC-8
Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933
The Scandinavian Airlines System Flight SK933, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 Series 62, registered LN-MOO, named Sverre Viking, of Norwegian registry, crashed in Santa Monica Bay, approximately west of the Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, at approximately 19:21 P.S.T.,...
on final approach to Los Angeles International also crashed into Santa Monica Bay. The jet broke in half on impact, killing 15. Thirty people survived in a portion of the fuselage that remained afloat.