What happened
During a nighttime departure from runway 32 at Shannon Airport, the Triton four-engine aircraft began its ascent but reached a peak altitude of only 260 feet. While traveling at a speed of 155 knots, the aircraft entered a slight nose-down attitude. This maneuver led to a continuous descent that ended in a crash into the Shannon Estuary, located roughly 8,170 feet from the end of the departure runway. The impact occurred approximately 35 seconds after the aircraft had left the ground. The accident resulted in 28 fatalities and 28 survivors, with the aircraft being completely destroyed.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several critical factors. A primary contributor was the pilot's failure to correctly interpret instrument readings during the process of retracting the flaps, which prevented timely corrective actions. This difficulty in monitoring instruments was compounded by the unexpected and unintended re-extension of the landing gear. The subsequent loss of aircraft performance due to this gear movement, combined with the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate climb gradient, left no margin to recover from these unforeseen mechanical and operational issues.