1969 — June 23, Dominicana de Aviacion 401 takeoff, engine fire, street crash ~Miami IAP, FL-10

–11 Playground Daily News, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, “11 killed…plane goes down…Miami street.” 6-24-1969, 1.
–4 crew
–7 on the ground
–10 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Descrip. Dominicana de Aviacion 401, 23 Jun 1969.
–4 crew
–6 on the ground
–10 Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL. “Mechanical Problems Delayed Crash Plane.” 6-25-1969, 1.
–4 crew
–6 on the ground
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬–10 NTSB. AAR. Compania Dominicana de Aviacion Douglas DC-4…Near Miami [IAP]…, p1.
–4 crew
–6 on the ground

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network: “Planned flight from Miami to Santo Domingo with crew of four and no passengers. Immediately after Flight 401 passed over the end of runway 12 following takeoff, heavy white smoke was seen emitting from the no. 2 engine and black puffs of smoke were seen coming from the no. 4 engine. The crew elected to return to the airport. The aircraft reached an altitude of about 300 feet and a left turn toward runway 27 was made. The Convair lost height and crashed into buildings 1 mile short of the runway.

“Probable Cause: The confused action on the part of the crew while attempting to cope with the catastrophic failure of an engine during takeoff. [from NTSB rpt.]” Six killed on the ground.
(ASN. AD. Dominicana de Aviacion 401, 23 Jun 1969; cites NTSB/AAR-70-17, Aug 12, 1970.)

Newspaper

June 24: “Miami (AP) – A DC4 cargo plane trying to circle back to Miami International Airport with an engine afire crashed in a busy, building-lined street here Monday [June 23], strewing flaming debris and wreckage along a four-block path. At least 11 people were killed, including the four crew members and seven people on the ground, said Miami police information officer Gaddy Rawls. Another dozen were hurt and Rawls said reports of people who received minor injuries were coming in steadily.

“Two of the victims were teen aged boys, killed with the plane demolished their father’s automobile body shop. Two other people in the shop were killed Rawls said. He also listed a couple walking along the street among the victims. Another man was killed when he swerved his truck to avoid the plane and smashed into a utility pole.

“Witnesses said the [unclear word] a four engine plane converted for carrying automobiles and owned by Dominicana Air Line came down atop a three story building about a half mile northeast of the airport. The craft then skipped along the tops of several other buildings knocking off their tops. It mowed down telegraph poles and power lines and ignited gasoline spilled from overturned pumps at a service station.

“The plane also spewed hundreds of gallons of flaming gasoline from its own tanks before it finally stopped in the middle of busy 36th Street in front of a used car lot.

“Fourteen fire trucks sped to the disaster scene and every available police emergency unit in the city began aiding the injured and recovering bodies….

“The twisted wreckage stopped near 36th Street and 33rd Ave. a scant two blocks south of the teeming Miami Beach Airport Expressway. Thousands of onlookers soon jammed the area….” (Playground Daily News, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, “11 killed when plane goes down in busy Miami street.” 6-24-1969, p. 1.)

June 25: “Miami (AP) – Mechanical problems Monday delayed the flight of a DC4 cargo plane that later crashed and burned on a Miami street, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday. ‘I understand the plane had oil pressure problems in the No. 4 engine,’ said Richard Skully of the FAA. He said the Dominicana Air Lines plane originally was scheduled to takeoff at about noon and had taxied onto the runway when the problem cropped up.

“A Dominicana Air Line spokesman confirmed the flight had been delayed but said no one was available to elaborate.

“The four engine craft took off at 3:40 p.m. bound for the Dominican Republic. It crashed eight minutes later while attempting to circle back to the airport for an emergency landing. Ten people were killed, including the four crewmen and six persons on the ground.

“Air traffic controllers said they notified the pilot of the plane upon takeoff that his No. 4 engine was smoking. When it crashed, one engine was afire and another had stalled.

“Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board searched through the charred rubble and wreckage for crash clues Tuesday. Police kept everybody else out of the area, a mile east of Miami’s International Airport.” (Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL. “Mechanical Problems Delayed Crash Plane.” 6-25-1969, p. 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Dominicana de Aviacion Flight 401, 23 Jun 1969. Accessed 3-2-2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19690623-0

Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL. “Mechanical Problems Delayed Crash Plane.” 6-25-1969, p. 1. Accessed 3-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sarasota-herald-tribune-jun-25-1969-p-1/

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Compania Dominicana de Aviacion Douglas DC-4, Carvair ATL 98, HI-168 Near Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, June 23, 1969 (File No. A-0002). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted 8-12-1970. Accessed 3-24-2022 at: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR70-17.pdf

Playground Daily News, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, “11 killed when plane goes down in busy Miami street.” 6-24-1969, p. 1. Accessed 3-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/playground-daily-news-jun-24-1969-p-1/