Accident Overview
A charter flight en route from McChord Air Force Base to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, with intermediate stops in Anchorage and Yokota, experienced a serious accident during takeoff from Anchorage International Airport. The aircraft was carrying 219 military personnel and 10 crew members. While taking off on runway 06R, it failed to achieve sufficient speed and did not become airborne.
The Takeoff and Abort
After passing V1 speed, the crew decided to abort the takeoff. However, the aircraft was unable to stop within the runway length. It overran the end of the runway, where it struck a wooden barrier and an Instrument Landing System (ILS) structure. Subsequently, it crossed a 12-foot-deep drainage ditch before coming to rest in flames. The aircraft was destroyed by the post-crash fire.
Evacuation and Casualties
One crew member and 46 passengers were killed in the accident. A total of 182 other occupants were evacuated from the wreckage, with 163 of them sustaining wounds. The remaining occupants escaped without reported injury.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the probable cause was the failure of the aircraft to attain the necessary airspeed for lift-off during the attempted takeoff. The lack of acceleration, which went undetected by the crew until after V1 speed, resulted from high frictional drag caused by the failure of all main landing gear wheels to rotate. It was established that braking pressure sufficient to lock the wheels was applied to the brake system, but the exact source of this pressure could not be determined. Possible sources included a hydraulic or brake system malfunction or an inadvertently engaged parking brake.