Bob Hope Airport - Incidents

Incidents

Bob Hope Airport was initially built for smaller aircraft; as a consequence, the airport has one of the smallest commercially used runways in the United States. The result is a challenging landing for even the most experienced pilots.

• On September 21, 1938, USAAC Chief Maj. Gen. Oscar Westover was killed in crash of Northrop A-17AS, 36-349, c/n 289, '1', out of Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., in a crosswind short of the runway at Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California, now known as Bob Hope Airport. The single-engined attack design used as a high-speed staff transport, crashed into a house at 1007 Scott Road in Burbank. Also KWF was his mechanic S/Sgt Samuel Hymes. Another source identifies him as Sgt. Samuel Hyne. Northeast Air Base, Massachusetts, renamed Westover Field on 1 December 1939, later Westover AFB on 13 January 1948.

• On September 8, 1955, Currey Air Transport Flight 24, a Douglas DC-3 bound for Oakland, crashed on the airport property while returning to the airfield after experiencing an engine failure shortly after takeoff. The plane, N74663, struck a powerline on the southern boundary of the airport, causing it to crash into two parked Air Force C-54 aircraft and a Lockheed Aircraft service hanger. The pilot, co-pilot and a Lockheed employee on the ground were killed; the plane's stewardess and one passenger were seriously injured. The remaining 29 passengers on board received minor injuries.

• On December 14, 1962, a Flying Tiger Line Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation freighter (N6913C) crashed in dense fog 1-1/2 miles west of the airport during an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to Runway 07. The Constellation clipped a telephone pole and billboard and crashed in an industrial and residential neighborhood near the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Vose Street in North Hollywood after the aircraft's 38-year-old pilot suffered a heart attack at a critical point in the landing approach. All five occupants of the Constellation—the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two non-revenue passengers—died in the crash. Also killed were two persons in a commercial building and a teen-age girl in a house that were among the structures struck by the plane.

• On December 5, 1982, Douglas C-53 N163E operated by P Crossman was damaged beyond repair in a taxiing accident.

• On March 5, 2000, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455, upon landing on Runway 8 at Burbank following a flight from Las Vegas, overran the runway, injuring 43. The Boeing 737 crashed through a metal blast barrier at the end of the runway, then an airport perimeter fence, and came to rest in the traffic lanes of Hollywood Way, a main north-south thoroughfare. The plane stopped close to a Chevron gasoline station located across the street from the runway. The incident resulted in the dismissal of the pilots. The Chevron gasoline station was subsequently closed and removed due to safety concerns.
• On September 21, 2005, JetBlue Airways Flight 292, took off from Burbank, and the front wheel of the aircraft failed to retract and instead jammed at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the direction the wheels normally face. The aircraft spent several hours in the air before safely making an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, with 140 passengers and 6 crew members aboard. The Airbus A320 was originally bound for JFK International Airport, in New York City, New York. After the aircraft took off, the incident was quickly captured by news helicopters which ran feed that was shown live nationally on cable news. Notably, many passengers on the flight said they watched images of their own aircraft's plight on JetBlue's LiveTV system.

• On October 13, 2006, a Gulfstream jet overran the runway upon landing. There were no reported injuries amongst the five passengers and two crew members. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was on board, on his way to attend the funeral of teammate Cory Lidle. Rodriguez was uninjured, but the accident happened two days after the fatal plane crash of his teammate.