Today marks 43 years since the Douglas DC-8's 50th hull loss incident, which involved Swissair flight 316. The aircraft was written off after breaking apart and catching fire following a runway overrun while landing in Athens, Greece. Let's take a look back in time to see how exactly this accident unfolded.
The flight and aircraft involved
Swissair flight 316 originated at Zürich (ZRH), Switzerland's largest airport, and its final destination was Beijing Capital International (PEK). Today, Zürich and Beijing retain a direct air link, although SWISS serves the Chinese capital's newer Daxing International Airport (PKX). There was also another key difference in 1979.
Specifically, unlike today's non-stop Zürich-Beijing flights, Swissair flight 316 had several stops en route. The first of these was also a Swiss facility, namely Geneva Airport (GVA). After this, the flight was scheduled to stop at Athens Ellinikon International, which was the Greek capital's main air hub until 2011. Its final stopover should have been at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport (BOM).
According to the Aviation Safety Network, the aircraft operating Swissair flight 316 on October 7th, 1979 was a Douglas DC-8-62 registered as HB-IDE. Data from ATDB.aero shows that it was just over 12 years old at the time, having been built in September 1967, and delivered to the carrier brand-new just two months later.
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Fiery overshoot
Following an uneventful first leg from Zürich to Geneva, the aircraft took off on its second leg to Athens with 154 people (142 passengers and 12 crew members) onboard. According to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, the Captain had 2,637 hours of experience on the DC-8, with the First Officer having amassed 805.
However, despite their familiarity with the jet, a series of mistakes led to a catastrophic outcome. One of these was the conducting of an unstable approach, despite having attained visual contact with the runway. This resulted in the aircraft touching down too far along the runway (as far as 8-900 meters beyond the threshold according to the BAAA), at too high a speed (270 km/h / 146 knots).
As a result, the aircraft overran the runway, after which it broke apart and caught fire. While the pilots did attempt to slow the aircraft, they reportedly didn't do so in an appropriate manner in light of the wet weather that had befallen the airport. The failure to deploy the wheel brakes was seen as a particularly crucial mistake.
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Impact and aftermath
Sadly, the accident, which was the 50th of 84 hull losses involving the Douglas DC-8 family, resulted in the deaths of 14 of the flight's passengers. All of these victims were seated in rows 21 to 26 of the aircraft. The presence of radioactive isotopes and plutonium among the flight's cargo and baggage also prompted radiation exposure checks for rescue workers, according to the Bangor Daily News.
With all of the flight's crew members having survived the crash, Greek authorities put the flight's Captain and First Officer on trial for charges including manslaughter with negligence. Despite initially being sentenced to five and two-and-a-half years in prison respectively, the Nashua Telegraph reported in 1984 that these sentences had been reduced to respective fines of $10,000 and $5,000.
Sources: ATDB.aero, Aviation Safety Network, BAAA, Bangor Daily News, Nashua Telegraph