What happened
On 12 December 1985, an Arrow Air Douglas DC-8-63, registered N950JW, was conducting a scheduled international charter flight from Cairo, Egypt, to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The aircraft had previously stopped in Cologne, Germany, for a crew change and then proceeded to Gander, Newfoundland. The flight was part of a troop rotation mission for the Multinational Force and Observers, transporting members of the 101st Airborne Division.
After arriving in Gander, the aircraft underwent routine servicing, including refueling and the removal of waste. Following the boarding of passengers, the aircraft taxied toward runway 22. During the takeoff roll from the intersection of runway 13, the aircraft rotated near taxiway "A". Observers noted that the plane failed to gain significant altitude and instead began a descent. As the aircraft crossed the nearby Trans-Canada Highway at a very low altitude, witnesses reported seeing a bright yellow or orange glow emanating from the airframe.
The aircraft entered a right bank with an increasing pitch angle before striking downsloping terrain roughly 3,000 feet past the end of the runway. The impact and subsequent intense fire resulted in 256 fatalities, leaving no survivors among the passengers and crew.
Findings
Investigators were unable to establish a definitive sequence of events leading to the crash. However, evidence suggested that the aircraft suffered from an increase in drag and a loss of lift shortly after takeoff, leading to an unrecoverable stall at a low altitude. The primary contributing factor was identified as ice contamination on the upper wing surface and the leading edge. Other potential contributing elements included insufficient takeoff speeds or a loss of power from the number four engine.