On september 29, 1959, 23 minutes into the 41minute flight from houston to dallas love field, the aircraft disintegrated in midair. Reed worked on a phenomenon that came out of the tests called propeller whirl flutter. Reeve aleutian l 188 n1968r cockpit documentary from dutch harbour duration. Lockheed l188 electra south australian aviation museum. All twentynine passengers and five crew members died in the crash. My model represents americans second electra in its original delivery paint before it was modified to eliminate propeller whirl mode problems and renamed electra ii. Many other airlines shared americans interest in the l188, and by the time the first prototype flew on december 6 1957, the order book stood at 144. A 18scale lockheed electra was tested in langleys transonic dynamics tunnel in the summer of 1960. The lockheed l 188 electra is a fourengine short to mediumrange turboprop airliner for up to 99 passengers produced by the usamerican manufacturer lockheed corporation.
The crash of a nw electra over tell city, indiana was attributed to whirl mode, as well as a braniff electra over texas. Many other airlines shared americans interest in the l 188, and by the time the first prototype flew on december 6 1957, the order book stood at 144. Oct 05, 2017 the problem was a design defect which allowed for uncontrollable oscillation of the props in the engine nacelles, that then was transferred to the wing, resulting in disintegration of the aircraft in flight. Braniff flight 542 project gutenberg selfpublishing. The phenomenon was known as whirl mode and had been corrected on all electras by the time you took that flight which, btw, i envy. Electra model investigation of propeller autoprecession. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were orde. Robart wheels and brakes along with bob walkers custom made landing gear. If the stiffness of the supporting system is reduced through failed or damaged engine structure, mounts as was suspected in the northwest airlines flight 710 due. The lockheed l188 electra is an american turboprop airliner built by. There were 80 passengers and five crew members on board. Electra s unique combination of increased power with existing engineering standards led to the first known example of whirl mode flutter as a significant flight safety issue. L188 was the electra production number, as l1011 is today for the lockheed tristar. It was the first turboprop airliner produced in the united states.
Is there any books about the aircraft that i might. Braniff international airways flight 542, a lockheed l 188 electra, registration n9705c, was a scheduled domestic flight from houston, texas, bound for new york with scheduled stops in dallas and washington, d. Jul 20, 2009 suddenly i found this clip stashed away on a hard drive enjoy, windy and shaky, but still a take off. Why was the electra uniquely vulnerable to whirlmode flutter. The design of the lockheed l 188 electra began in 1954, and in the following year the company received a launching order from american airlines. The cause, called whirlpool mode, was eventually identified as a weakness. The lockheed l188 electra has a purposeful and powerful profile, according to veteran american airlines captain arthur weidman, who had flown dc3s, convairliners, dc6s, and dc7s. A third disaster led to expensive modifications to fix the defective design. It occasionally developed in pistonengine aircraft, but with little effect. Servicing the buffalo airways electra the l188 electra. The whirl mode phenomenon was the result of a loss of structural rigidity following the failure of an engine mount during a hard landing. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search.
The article includes a link to a short quicktime video of the whirl mode phenomenon. This chapter is focused on a specific type of dynamic aeroelastic stability phenomenon whirl flutter. The airplane operated on a flight from houstonwilliam p. The jack real papers consist of research material related to howard hughes biography. On march 17, 1960, a lockheed l188 electra crashed into a field. Feb 19, 2000 lockheed l188 electra by jim upton, 9781580070256, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Accident overview lessons learned federal aviation.
The lockheed model 188 electra is an american turboprop airliner built by lockheed. In june 1955 american awarded lockheed an order for 35 such aircraft. A navy seals account of the active shooter at jfk sig talk. By an unlucky coincidence, the whirl mode frequency of the electra s big four bladed propellers happened to match the flapping frequency of the wing.
The lockheed electra l188 was the first large turboprop plane used by u. I recently got a encyclopedia of passenger aircraft called civil aircraft by amberbooks and i was surprised that the plane was not included in the lockheed section of the book. A whirl mode occurred when a damaged engine created a harmonic vibration so powerful it caused the aircrafts wing to be torn off. The book deals with the whirl mode flutter problem that caused early electra crashes and the leap program to fix this. This chapter is focused on a specific type of dynamic aeroelastic stability phenomenonwhirl flutter. The l188 electra was first introduced in 1957 when it became the first turboprop produced in the united states. The civil aeronautics board blamed the crash on the whirlmode prop theory and inflight. The electra entered service in early january 1959 with us operator eastern airlines. A lockheed l188a electra passenger plane, registered n9707c, was destroyed in an accident 1,6 km e of dawson, tx, united states of america.
The lockheed l188 electra, notoriously, suffered from early problems with whirlmode flutter, which caused two electras to break apart in flight in 1959 and 1960, forcing an expensive redesign of the. All this came flooding back in memory in the last week as the second max crashed under circumstances similar to the first. The book, the electra story by john selding in smithsonian. As he reported the aircraft did fine the first hour. The lockheed l 188 electra the lockheed l188 electra has the distinction of being the only large american turboprop airliner. In both crashes, the electra broke up in flight and a structural fault called a whirl mode was blamed. I put my most l 188 experienced tech supervisor on board the charter as we knew sju hadnt seen an electra in many years. According to the lockheed l188 electra site, the electras went on to fly for more than 29 different airlines as freight dogs, sprayers and charters for decades. Many electra had been converted as cargo freighters after their service as airliners.
Flight 542 departed the ramp at houston at 2237lt, 22 minutes behind schedule with a total of 34 persons including a crew of six consisting of captain wilson elza stone, first officer dan hollowell, second officer roland longhill, and stewardesses alvilyn harrison, betty rusch and leona winkler, none of whom survived. In the case of nw, the aircraft encountered turbulence and it is suggested that this set the outboard engines into the whirl. Braniff airways flight 542, a lockheed model l188a electra airplane, was. The lockheed l188 electra is an american turboprop airliner built by lockheed. Both accidents were determined to have been the result of destructive wing flutter initiated by a propeller whirl mode. There was a very interesting book about the electra written by robert serling twilight zones rods brother titled, the electra story. The lockheed l188 electra, notoriously, suffered from early problems with whirlmode flutter, which caused two electras to break apart in flight. Flutter tests of the full span lockheed electra youtube. Newest lockheedl188electra questions aviation stack. Jul 20, 20 the book is well documented, with many pictures and diagrams covering the history of the l188, the variations and derivatives. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the united states.
The northwest electra, when landing for its chicago stop, experienced a hard landing as verified by the lucky few who deplaned there. L188 electra argentina, bolivia, ecuador, honduras, mexico small page about electra operators in those countries. This is a discussion on a navy seals account of the active shooter at jfk within the gun training and tactics forums, part of the gun forum category. Tests are conducted using a 18th scale fullspan lockheed electra. The upanddown motion was transmitted to the electras left wing. The mode that destroyed the electras was whirl mode. Written by dick wallin good day folks, its dick wallin back here again for some of what i hope will be more new interesting columns on airline dining items. The lockheed l188 electra, notoriously, suffered from early problems with whirlmode flutter, which caused two electras to break apart in flight in 1959 and 1960, forcing an expensive redesign of the electras engine mounts and killing off electra sales. Unfortunately, two well publicized crashes early in its career caused a number of order cancellations and production was halted soon after. Tests are conducted using a 18th scale fullspan lockheed electra model. After an extensive and protracted investigation, it was concluded that the electra was vulnerable to a whirl mode failure, where oscillations due to a weakness in the mounting of the outboard engines could resonate with a mode of the wing and lead to failure of its attachment point to the fuselage. Full details of these accidents and the investigations are covered in the outofprint book, the electra story, by the late robert j.
The plane was eleven days old, having come off lockheeds california manufacturing line on september 18, 1959, and had only 2 hours of flight time. Robert serling, the electra story made it into the book. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Navy p3b orion msn 1855199 registration 152757 went down because of a suspected whirl mode. A good coverage of the whirl mode flutter problem that led to two fatal accidents is provided, as well as the of corrective leap program lockheed electra action program.
Flight physics models, techniques and technologies. There was a phenomenon with the outboard allison 501 d engines, called whirl mode by the engineers, that under the right circumstances led to the catastrophic failure of the wing. The order for 35 aircraft set the ball rolling and although the order book was not. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes, no more were ordered. It first flew in 1957 and when first delivered had only slightly inferior performance to that of a turbojet airliner but at a lower operating cost. For example, only one of the two fatal lockheed l188 electra crashes that were attributed to the whirl mode phenomenon see also. September 29, 1959 a braniff lockheed electra lost a wing and exploded in flight over buffalo, tx. The lockheed l188 electra the lockheed l188 electra has the distinction of being the only large american turboprop airliner. Northwest flight 710, march 17, 1960 mrk tell city,in. Articles page 7 of 10 world airline historical society. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a. Unfortunately, three l188s were to crash with loss of life within the first 16 months of the types introduction to service. The prototype, first flown on 6 december 1957, was a lowwing monoplane of conventional configuration with retractable tricycle landing gear and powered by four allison 501d, 501da or 501d15. The propellers, like the child driving a swing ever higher by small movements of their body, had eventually caused the wing to flap so violently that in 30 seconds it broke at the root, without.
Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The book is well documented, with many pictures and diagrams covering the history of the l188, the variations and derivatives. The electra enigma world airline historical society. The eventual cause was whirl mode or gyroscopic whirl as it was also called. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Apparently, the whirl mode caused from the wobbly, over speeding prop was unchecked by the weak engine mounts. This 1960 video is of flutter tests conducted at the nasa langley research centers 16foot transonic dynamics tunnel. Lockheed l188 electra the 1950s was a transitional period for australias two major domestic airlines ansettana and taa trans australia airlines, and its international airline qantas.
Flight 542 was a lockheed l 188 electra equipped with four allison 501d engines. Whirl flutter is caused by the effect of rotating parts of a turboprop power plant propeller and, gas turbine engine rotor. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Vintage plastic modeling revells lockheed l188 electra. John margwarth, another university of michigan man, was director of safety for lockheed, and it was his insight that led to an investigation revealing that the electra s fatal flaw was in the three member structure connecting the gearbox and the. The issues with the l188 were actually miscalculations. Lockheed l188 electra aircraft history, specification. In both crashes the electra broke up in flight and a structural fault, called a whirl mode, was blamed. I wanted to make a post about one of my favorite underated airline turboprops of the 50s. Drew up the plans and began building in september of 2010.
Why not follow us on facebook to be the first to find out about the latest developments. This is a shortcoming because many substantial lessons have been learned in accidents involving fewer fatalities. An excellent aircraft, the electra was beset by unfortunate and severe structural problems, and then was surpassed by rapid improvements in pure jet aircraft. It had not flown for more than an hour for years being in shuttle service and it began to wonder why it wasnt being landed. On september 29, 1959, a braniff electra braniff flight 542 crashed in buffalo, texas en route to dallas, texas from houston, texas. Vintage plastic modeling revells lockheed l188 electra november 5, 2014 5.
The nose slopes downward sharply to provide good forward visibility on the ground and in the air. Whirlmode flutter can be compared to the wobbling that occurs when a toy top slows down. This was northwest airlines in 1950, the airline rebranded itself as northwest orient airlines, although the legal name of the company remained northwest airlines. May 30, 2018 electras unique combination of increased power with existing engineering standards led to the first known example of whirl mode flutter as a significant flight safety issue. As i recall the second of the two had considerable technical detail regarding engine whirl mode and the way the. Whirl mode is a divergent, lowfrequency vibration of the engine and mount which can result in separation of the engine from the airframe. The upanddown motion was transmitted to the electra s left wing. The decade began with the carriers operating all piston engine aircraft and concluded with a number of turboprop powered types being. The lockheed l 188 electra is an american turboprop airliner built by lockheed.
Whirl mode is an issue which is often ignored when designing the engine mounting structures used to install v8 engines on aircraft. The chapter presents fundamental facts regarding the whirl flutter phenomenon, including a historical overview and information regarding the occurrence of whirl. Lockheed l188 electra airliner tech series manual volume. By dennis sparks long range commercial aviation was dominated in the early 1950s by aircraft like the douglas dc6 and dc7, lockheeds l749 and l1069 constellation and. Eventually, a phenomenon called whirl mode was identified as the culprit. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the united states. Also included are books, printed matter, photographs, and vhs belonging to real and his career in the aerospace industry. The faa administrator requested lockheed aircraft corporation to reevaluate the electra.
Let us know what you think of the site and tell us what features you want to see next. Lockheeds design, the l 188, was a low wing, four turboprop powered aircraft. The electra whirl mode accidents are recounted in part of the article. Lockheed l188 electra specifications technical data. Thought this was interesting read, especially for those of us who travel quite a bit. Normally, whirl mode flutter can operate only within the flexibility limits of the engine mounting structure, and is quickly dampened. Asn aircraft accident lockheed l188a electra n9707c.