Flight History
The Douglas DC-7 serving Flight 663 made its first flight in 1958, and had subsequently accumulated a total of 18,500 hours of flight time. It was piloted by Captain Frederick R. Carson, 41, who had been employed by Eastern Air Lines for 19 years and who had accumulated 12,607 hours of flight time. His copilot, First Officer Edward R. Dunn, 41, a nine-year veteran of Eastern Airlines, had 8,550 hours of flight time. The flight engineer was Douglas C. Mitchell, 24, with two years' employment and 407 pilot hours and 141 hours flight engineer time. All had passed proficiency checks with the DC-7B aircraft. The two flight attendants aboard were Linda Lord and Judith Durkin.
The flight from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, to John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, proceeded normally. Flight 663 departed JFK at 6:20 p.m. EDT on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) clearance to Byrd Field (now Richmond International Airport), Richmond, Virginia. Take-off proceeded normally, and the airport control-tower prepared to hand over control to the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) on Long Island, noting that Flight 663 was executing a "Dutch Seven Departure," a routine takeoff procedure that required a series of turns over the Atlantic Ocean in order to avoid flying over New York City. The New York ARTCC responded with the information that Pan American Airways Flight 212, a Boeing 707, was descending to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in the same airspace.
| Sender | Message | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| New York Air Route Traffic Control Center | All right, at three miles north of Dutch is Clipper 212 descending to 4,000. | |
| How does he shape up with that boy coming in . . . the guy at his 1 o'clock position? | ||
| JFK Control Tower | We're above him. |
Though the control tower responded that Flight 663 was at a higher altitude than Flight 212, it was, in fact, lower. Subsequently, the control tower radioed the Pan Am flight that there was traffic in his airspace at "11 o'clock," six miles away travelling southeast of Pam Am's position, climbing above 3,000 feet (910 m). Pan Am 212 acknowledged. ATC then radioed Flight 663 a similar advisory: at "2 o'clock," five miles away travelling, below Flight 663's position. In reality, the traffic, Pan Am 212, was above Flight 663, descending from 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Captain Carson acknowledged that he saw the traffic, that he was beginning to turn into the Dutch Seven Departure, and signed off, saying, "Good night."
| Sender (bold) Recipient |
Message | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| JFK Control Tower to Pan Am 212 |
Traffic at 11 o’clock, six miles, southeastbound, just climbing out of three . | |
| Pan Am 212 to JFK Control Tower |
We have traffic. | |
| JFK Control Tower to Eastern 663 |
Traffic, 2 o’clock, five miles, northeast-bound, below you. | |
| Eastern 663 to JFK Control Tower |
Okay. We have the traffic. Turning one seven zero, six six three . . . good night. | |
| JFK Control Tower to Eastern 663 |
Good night, sir. |
Flight 663's radioed "good night" at 6:25 p.m. was the last transmission received from the doomed flight.
Read more about this topic: Eastern Air Lines Flight 663
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