Accident Description:
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𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗸 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝟰𝟬 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Syracuse to Washington with a stopover in Elmira. The flight was being operated by a BAC One-Eleven (Reg. N1116J) on 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟯, 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟳.
Following takeoff from Elmira at 14:39 EDT, Flight 40 established radio contact with the New York ARTCC at 14:42, whereupon the flight was cleared to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Acknowledgement of this clearance was the last communication received from the plane. A subsequent clearance for Flight 40 to climb to 16,000 feet, transmitted by the New York Center at 14:44, was received by the flight but their acknowledgement was not received by the Center. At about 14:47, the New York Center controller observed the radar target of the plane appear to slow down, move laterally, and then dissapear from his radar scope.
The plane was observed in flight by a number of ground witnesses, who gave varying reports of smoke coming from the tail of the plane as it proceeded south from Mansfield, Pennsylvania, which is about 9 miles north of Blossburg. Two witnesses, loccated about 2 miles north of Blossburg, observed large sections of the tail separate from the plane in fight, after which fire and smoke emitted from the tail as the plane dove into the ground.
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲:
"The loss of integrity of empennage pitch control systems due to a destructive in-flight fire which originated in the airframe plenum chamber, fueled by hydraulic fluid, progressed up into the vertical tail fin. The fire resulted from engine bleed air flowing back through the malfunctioning nonreturn valve and an open air delivery valve, through the auxiliary power unit in a reverse direction, and exiting into the plenum chamber at temperatures sufficiently high to cause the acoustics linings to ignite."
