Summary In-flight fire Crew 6 Survivors 1 Number of deaths 5 Operator Trans World Airlines Passenger count 0 | Passengers 0 Fatalities 5 Date 11 July 1946 Injuries (nonfatal) 1 Survivor 1 | |
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Similar TWA Flight 6963, TWA Flight 903, 1965 Carmel mid‑air co, TWA Flight 599, TWA Flight 159 | ||
TWA Flight 513, registration NC86513, Star of Lisbon, was a Lockheed L-049 Constellation operated by Transcontinental and Western Air on a training flight on July 11, 1946 when it crashed near Reading, Pennsylvania. Electrical wiring in the baggage compartment arced, starting a fire. The smoke and intense fire created made it impossible for the pilots to maintain control of the aircraft. Of the six crewmembers aboard, five were killed. This accident is memorable for grounding all Lockheed Constellations from July 12 until August 23, 1946 when cargo fire detection equipment could be installed. The crash was referred to in Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator, based on the life of TWA's then-owner, Howard Hughes.
References
TWA Flight 513 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA