The Sky-High Saga of N802WA over Mount Dutton

The Sky-High Saga of N802WA over Mount Dutton

In 1973, a DC-8 cargo flight from California to the Philippines, with a pitstop in Alaska, had quite the updraft over Mount Dutton. The Alaskan adventurist's tale behind the plane's butting of the side of the mountain, still a puzzling mystery.

In 1973, a Douglas DC-8, a piece of a cargo flight between California and the Philippines with an Alaskan layover, had itself a real ball-up. This catastrophe occurred on a lazy Saturday, September 8th at 05:42 local time to be precise. The aircraft, with the registry N802WA, had been in action for just two years and, as far as maintenance goes, was as fit as a fiddle. But for reasons unbeknownst to us, the flight crew deviated from the course and wound up in an area of iffy radio signal strength. Up they went, up, up until they bumped into Mount Dutton at 3,500 feet altitude. gemütlichia.com

The investigation into the crash took place the same year and identified the most probable cause as the captain disregarding the published instrument approach procedures for the destination airport. The aircraft, operated by World Airways for the US Military Airlift Command, was no more a part of this mortal coil, its fragments serving as an icing-cold reminder of that day.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

Written by Friendly Jane

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