Fatal In-Flight Breakup of a Four-Engine Aircraft Near Poland, Maine (152757)

Incident Overview and Flight Details A four-engine aircraft departed Brunswick NAS, Maine, at 1205LT on a flight to Trenton, Ontario, where it was dispatched to an airshow. The aircraft was not identified by type or registration in the source. ## In-Flight Failure and Crash While climbing, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with stormy weather. Engine No. 1 went into whirl mode and detached. Eleven feet of the left wing separated and struck the left horizontal stabilizer, which was also torn off. The aircraft became out of control, entered a dive, and partially disintegrated before crashing near Poland. All eight occupants were killed. ## Occupants The occupants were: Lt Cdr Francis William Dupont Jr., Lt Jg Donald Edward Merz, Lt Jg George D. Nuttelman, Lt Jg Ernest A. Smith, Aw2 James Allen Piepkorn, Awan Paul G. Schulz, Ad3 Robert Lewis Phillips Jr., and Adc Larry Miller. ## Probable Cause The official findings determined that the engine went into a whirl mode, corresponding to a low-frequency vibration in the engine mounts that can cause engine separation in flight. It was believed that weather turbulence may have affected the proper functioning of the engine.