Background
The aircraft had arrived at Honolulu at 0507 hours Hawaiian standard time on 21 July as CPA Flight 323 from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was departing the evening of 22 July as Empress Flight 301 on a scheduled international flight to Nadi (Fiji Islands), Auckland (New Zealand), and Sydney (Australia). The night takeoff commenced at 22:38 hours local time.
Incident
Approximately two minutes after becoming airborne and during the climbout, a fire warning indication for No. 1 engine was received in the cockpit. The No. 1 propeller was feathered, and the tower controller was advised that the aircraft was returning to Honolulu. As an over-gross landing weight condition existed, fuel jettisoning in the amount of 35,000 lb was carried out. The jettisoning operation was completed at 23:06 hours, following which the flight was vectored west of the outer marker to intercept the ILS final approach course for runway 08.
Accident Sequence
The three-engine landing approach appeared normal until the aircraft had proceeded beyond the runway threshold and had commenced its landing flare at an altitude of approximately 20 feet above the runway centerline. A go-around was attempted from this position, and the aircraft banked and veered sharply to the left. Initial ground contact was made by the left wing tip approximately 550 feet to the left of the runway centerline and approximately 700 feet beyond the threshold of the runway. The aircraft progressively disintegrated as it moved across the ground, then struck heavy earth-moving equipment parked approximately 970 feet from the runway centerline.
Probable Cause
The official finding stated that the probable cause was the attempted three-engine go-around, when the aircraft was in a full landing configuration, at insufficient airspeed and altitude to maintain control.