Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8
< Imperial Airlines Flight 201
Lockheed Constellation L-049 similar to accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 8, 1961 |
| Summary | Pilot error |
| Site | Henrico County, near Byrd Field, Richmond, Virginia 37°28′39.56″N 77°18′1.96″W / 37.4776556°N 77.3005444°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-049E Constellation |
| Operator | Imperial Airlines |
| Registration | N2737A |
| Occupants | 79 |
| Passengers | 74 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 77 |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Survivors | 2 |
Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 was a charter flight by the United States Army to transport new recruits to Columbia, South Carolina for training. On November 8, 1961, the aircraft crashed as it attempted to land at Byrd Field, near Richmond, Virginia. This was at the time the second deadliest accident in American history for a single civilian aircraft.
The accident was investigated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which attributed the cause to numerous errors committed by the flight crew, as well as poor management and improper maintenance by the airline. The CAB concluded that the "flight crew was not capable of performing the function or assuming the responsibility for the job they presumed to do."