Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 Accident (N8415H)

Incident Overview and Route Details On July 23, 1965, Allegheny Airlines Flight 604, operated by a Convair 340/440 with registration N8415H, crashed 5 miles east-northeast of the Williamsport-Lycoming County Airport in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. The aircraft was on a regularly scheduled flight from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Newark, New Jersey, with intermediate stops at Dubois, Phillipsburg, Williamsport, and Wilkes-Barre, all in Pennsylvania. The flight departed Runway 09 at 1503 e.d.t. ## Emergency Sequence and Crash Shortly after takeoff, smoke and fire were observed from the right engine. At approximately 1505:30, the captain transmitted a message stating, “Six oh four is coming back in, we've got the right engine feathered.” The crash occurred moments later on the crest of a ridge approximately 600 feet above the airport elevation. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. ## Casualties and Damage The 36 passengers, 3 crew members, and 1 jumpseat rider survived but received varying degrees of injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. ## Technical Findings The failure of the right engine is attributed to the failure of the front row master rod and all the associated link rods. Damage to the rod ends precluded any determination of the cause of the master rod failure.