Deadly Rudder Malfunction: The Story Of American Airlines Flight 1

On Thursday, March 1st, 1962, now almost 62 years ago, an American Airlines Boeing 707 crashed shortly after taking off from New York-Idlewild Airport. This name may seem unfamiliar, but it is, in fact, the same airport that is now known as New York JFK International Airport (JFK). The crash sadly took the lives of everyone onboard the jet. Let’s take a look at this tragic event and what forced the 707 to lose control.

Setting the scene

On March 1st, 1962, an American Airlines Boeing 707 was to perform a fairly routine flight between New York City and Los Angeles. Conducting the service was a Boeing 707-100, registration N7506A, bearing the name ‘Flagship District of Columbia.’ Data from ATDB.aero shows that the quadjet was just over three years old, having entered service with American Airlines in February 1959.

Given the highly prestigious “flight number one” position, American Airlines flight AA1 took off from New York Idlewild for southern California’s Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 10:07. This remains one of the US’s most important transcontinental corridors today. Onboard were eight crew members and 87 passengers, making for a total of 95 souls onboard the four-engined jetliner.

According to reporting by the Aviation Safety Network, the aircraft apparently performed a normal takeoff, lifting off about 5000 feet (1,524 meters) down runway 31L. Thirty-seven seconds later, the aircraft initiated a gentle turn to the port/left side, around 8000 feet (2,438 meters) down the runway, at an altitude of 100 feet (30.5 meters).

After setting the course with a west-northwesterly heading of 290 degrees, the departing quadjet straightened out from the turn and continued to climb for several seconds on this heading. It then initiated a second turn to the left as instructed by Departure Control. This is where things went horribly wrong.

A nearly vertical dive into Jamaica Bay

Beginning its second turn, the aircraft’s bank angle increased rapidly, rolling through 90 degrees of bank at a peak altitude of about 1600 feet. The Aviation Safety Network notes that the 707 then “entered an inverted, nose-low attitude and plunged earthward in a nearly vertical dive.” Running out of altitude, the jet hit the ground in the shallow waters of Pumpkin Patch Channel of Jamaica Bay at low tide.

The aircraft’s impact was at an angle of approximately 78 degrees nose-down, on a northwesterly magnetic heading of 300 degrees. Minutes later, a fire broke out, and, tragically, every person onboard the aircraft perished in the incident. This included several high-profile individuals, including:

• Retired US Navy Admiral Richard Lansing Conolly, president of Long Island University and two-time Deputy Chief of Naval Operations.
• George T. Felbeck, retired president of Union Carbide and former operations manager of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge uranium enrichment plant.
• Multimillionaire W. Alton Jones, former president and chairman of Cities Service Company and a close friend of former US President Eisenhower.
• Realtor Arnold Kirkeby, who was the former head of the Kirkeby chain of luxury hotels
• Gold-medal US Olympian sailor Emelyn Whiton.
• Louise Sara Eastman, mother of Linda McCartney

According to Time, Alton Jones was found to have been traveling with $55,690 in cash, as well as $7,000 in traveler’s checks. These figures are equivalent to almost $552,000 and $70,000 today. Time notes additionally that “15 abstract paintings and drawings by the late Arshile Gorky” were also lost in the crash.

Looking at the cause of the incident

Investigators eventually found the flight data recorder and got to work trying to determine just what went wrong. Reportedly, the loss of control was caused by a short circuit caused by wires in the 707’s automatic piloting system, which were damaged in the manufacturing process. Stated as the probable cause of the accident, US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigators described the outcome as follows:

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The report added that “a rudder servo malfunction due to shorted wires is the most likely abnormality to have produced the accident.” This was the third crash involving an American Airlines Boeing 707 in the space of just four years, following two training crashes occurring in 1959 and 1961. Despite the tragedy and its association with Flight AA1, American Airlines held on to the flight number and its use on the route. To this day, AA1 designates the flight from New York JFK to LAX: a service that now utilizes the Airbus A321.

Did you know about the crash of AA1 in 1962? If so, what are your memories of the disaster? Let us know your thoughts and recollections in the comment section.