North Central Airlines - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

• August 4, 1968 – North Central Airlines Flight 261, a Convair CV-580, collided with a Cessna 150 11.5 miles (19 km) miles southwest of Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee at 2,700 feet (820 m), as the northbound Convair from Chicago descended for an approach to runway 7. The cabin section of the northwest-bound Cessna embedded in the Convair's forward baggage compartment. The Convair lost electrical power and the right engine was shut down due to a damaged propeller, but the captain completed a successful emergency landing six minutes later. All three teenagers aboard the Cessna were killed and the first officer on the Convair had serious leg and head injuries, but the other 3 crew and 8 passengers were uninjured. Heavy accumulation of insect debris on the windshield was cited as a contributing factor.
• December 27, 1968 – Flight 458, a Convair CV-580, crashed into a hangar while attempting to land at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, killing 27 of the 45 people on board and killing one and injuring six people on the ground.
• April 23, 1970 – Flight 945, a DC-9 destined for Sault Ste. Marie Airport, was hijacked shortly after departure from Pellston Regional Airport. The hijacker demanded to be taken to Detroit. The hijacker was soon taken down, and there were no fatalities.
• June 29, 1972 – All five aboard (3 crew, 2 passengers) Flight 290, a Convair CV-580, were killed when it collided with Air Wisconsin Flight 671, a de Havilland Twin Otter, with eight aboard (two crew, six passengers). Both crashed into the north end of Lake Winnebago, 3 miles (5 km) east of Neenah, Wisconsin, with no survivors from either plane. The collision occurred at 2,500 feet (760 m) on a mostly clear but hazy late morning as 290, two hours late, approached Oshkosh from Green Bay. The Air Wisconsin air taxi flight originated in Chicago and was set to arrive at Appleton from Sheboygan; both were operating under visual flight rules.
• December 20, 1972 – Flight 575, a DC-9-31, was cleared by an air traffic controller for takeoff at O'Hare in Chicago, while recently arrived Delta Air Lines Flight 954, a Convair CV-880, was instructed to taxi across the runway to a holding area. The DC-9 had just started to climb in the heavy fog when it clipped the tail of the CV-880. Ten of the 45 people on board the North Central DC-9 were killed in the resulting collision and crash and 15 were injured; there were two minor injuries on the Delta CV-880.
• July 25, 1978 – Flight 801 departed Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Kalamazoo, Michigan at 7:00 am EDT in fog. The Convair 580 struck a bird immediately after takeoff frum runway 17 and lost power in its left engine. It flew an additional 79 seconds, banking left, then crash-landed into a cornfield east of the airport. Of the 40 passengers and 3 crew on board, 2 passengers and a crewman had serious injuries, but there were no fatalities. (photo) The NTSB report attributed the cause of the crash to the captain's failure to follow proper emergency procedures.