Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8

Last crawled date: 1 year, 7 months ago

This plane, N1968R, operated Reeve Flight 8 on June 8 1983. At 19,000ft, flying from Cold Bay to Seattle, Flight 8's #4 propeller tore off of its mounting. The wayward propeller then sheared through the bottom of the cabin, slicing a thin but deep hole into the cabin floor. An explosive decompression occured, and the plane's control lines were mostly severed when the cabin floor partly caved in. The autopilot still barely worked, however, and the flight crew managed to steer the crippled plane back towards Alaska. Choosing to continue on 700km farther to Anchorage, the captain decided to risk trying to make it to Anchorage. He would be critically low on fuel when he landed. A while later, the plane approached Anchorage for an emergency landing. On the first attempt, the plane was too fast, and the pilots had to go around. However, now low on fuel, this second attempt would be all or nothing. On try #2, the pilots touched down hard, without brakes. The captain then made a decision that may have cost the lives of all on board: shutting off all remaining engines. Pulling the autostop switches for the #1, #2, and #3 engines, the plane's remaining power was gone. Now, if the plane didn't stop in time, it would run off the runway and most likely explode in the adjacent forest. Fortunately, the plane rolled to a stop just in time, barely 100 feet from the end of the runway. All on board survived, through a piece of magnificent flying by the crew. Thanks to niltondc. #008 #08 #Airways #Aleutian #Eight #Electra #Flight #L188 #L188C #Lockheed #Reeve