Hughes Airwest Flight 706

Infobox Aircraft accident
name = Hughes Airwest Flight 706
date = June 6, 1971
type = Mid-air collision
site = San Gabriel Mountains California, USA
total_fatalities = 50 (including all onboard Flight 706)
total_survivors = 1
plane1_type = McDonnell Douglas DC-9
plane1_operator = Hughes Airwest
plane1_tailnum = airreg|N|9345|disaster
plane1_origin = Los Angeles, California
plane1_stopover0 = Salt Lake City, Utah
plane1_stopover1 = Boise, Idaho
plane1_stopover2 = Lewiston, Idaho
plane1_stopover3 = Pasco, Washington
plane1_laststopover = Yakima, Washington
plane1_destination = Seattle, Washington
plane1_passengers = 44
plane1_crew = 5
plane1_survivors = 0
plane2_type = F-4B Phantom II
plane2_operator = USMC
plane2_tailnum = 151458
plane2_squadron = VMFA-323
plane2_crew = 2
plane2_survivors = 1

Hughes Airwest Flight 706 was a Hughes Airwest commercial flight that flew from Los Angeles, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Following a mid-air collision with a fighter jet, the flight crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains near Duarte, California, killing all 49 people aboard.

On June 6, 1971, Flight 706, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-31, took off from Los Angeles International Airport at 6:02 PM PST. Its first stop was Salt Lake City, part of an itinerary that would take it to its ultimate destination of Seattle, Washington.

Meanwhile, at 5:16 PM PST, another McDonnell-Douglas aircraft, an F-4B Phantom II jet fighter of squadron VMFA-323 of the United States Marine Corps [ [http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/PROJECT/YEAR_Pages/1971.htm Ejection History - 1971] ] , took off from Naval Air Station Fallon near Reno, Nevada. Its intended destination was its home base at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine, California.

At 6:11 PM PST, Flight 706 was climbing to its assigned altitude of 33,000 feet over the San Gabriel Mountains when the Phantom II collided with the DC-9 at 15,150 feet.

The Phantom spun wildly out of control. The radar intercept officer (RIO) successfully ejected about five seconds after impact and was uninjured. The pilot, whose forward canopy did not jettison, was killed on impact with the ground. The ejection seat was incapable of safely penetrating a closed canopy, and previous incidents had shown a tendency for the forward canopy to remain attached if the rear canopy is ejected first. All on board the DC-9 were also killed on impact with the ground.

The subsequent investigation revealed that both crews failed to see and avoid each other almost until the moment of impact, when BuNo458 attempted to evade the airliner. The DC-9 did not initiate any evasive action. The crew of BuNo458 also failed to request radar advisory service, especially considering they had an inoperable transponder on board, making it invisible on ATC radar screens.

Allegations surfaced during the investigation that the pilot of BuNo458 performed some kind of aerobatic maneuver shortly before the collision with flight 706. The RIO stated that approximately 90 seconds prior to impact the pilot had completed an aileron roll, and had begun an unsuccessful evasive turn at the last moment to avoid a collision. [http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR72-26.pdf Official NTSB Accident Investigation Report NTSB-AAR-72-26] - PDF 1.8 MB retrieved 07/28/2008]

References

External links

* [http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR72-26.pdf Official NTSB Accident Investigation Report NTSB-AAR-72-26] - PDF 1.8 MB
* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19710606-0&lang=en Flight 706 at Aviation Safety Network]
* [http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/ha706/photo.shtml Photo of the DC-9 crash site]
* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=N9345&distinct_entry=true Pre-crash photo of DC-9 N9345 in Air West livery, July 1970]