A hole in the floor

On June 8, 1983, the Lockheed L-188C Electra operated by Reeve Aleutian Airways was flying from Cold Bay (Alaska) to Seattle. The 23-year-old aircraft was equipped with four turboprop engines. The flight was over the ocean. There were 5 crew members and 10 passengers on board.

Right after departure, when the plane reached 7,600 meters, the crew felt an uncommon vibration and a strange noise. Flight engineer checked engines through the windows in the cabin, but found nothing unusual. Level of vibration was increasing. Pilots' steering wheels began shacking and flight crew decided to return to the departure airport. Flight attendant looked out of the window and saw that the propeller of engine №4 had separated. It also ripped the bottom of the plane causing explosive depressurization. There was a hole in the floor providing a view of the ocean below.

Airplane was getting filled with the thick fog because of rapid air temperature and pressure changes. Soon the fog disappeared and the pilots discovered that aircraft was making a right turn on its own. Attempts to level off the aircraft were unsuccessful because both steering wheels did not move. Captain engaged the autopilot and the plane suddenly leveled off. Pilots started to descend to 3000 meters with the assistance of autopilot and at the same time they understood that engine power did not reduce by moving the throttles. In addition, trying to make a right turn the aircraft abruptly went into huge overloads. Only one action remained: flying in one direction, moving away from the shore.

Crew declared an emergency situation. At an altitude of 3,000 meters, the first officer was able to turn the steering wheel to the right and the plane began rolling. As it was impossible to reduce speed, the crew began to search for the longest runway in the area. The pilots considered a ditching but an air traffic controller suggested them fly to Anchorage with 3,200-meter-long runway. The distance to Anchorage was long, there were many high mountains in the vicinity and weather was unpredictable, but it was safer than ditching. That’s why captain agreed.

All emergency services in Anchorage had been informed beforehand and properly prepared for the distress traffic. Captain disengaged the autopilot and the first officer discovered that he could partially control the aircraft manually. In order to reduce the speed before landing, crew shut off the engine №2. At the moment before touching down captain realized that speed was too high and decided to go around. Pilots started the second approach from a height of 240 meter in order not to exceed the speed. After touching down, both remaining engines were shut down and aborted landing became totally impossible. Due to the emergency brakes, one of the landing gears caught fire. The plane lost control and veered off the runway. Luckily no one was injured in the incident.

The investigation failed to determine the cause of the propeller separation in flight. Control problems appeared due to the damage to the floor of the cabin, where the control cables were located. Explosive decompression bent the fuselage. As a result, the control cables were clamped and blocked. The autopilot's hydraulics pulled the cables with greater force, which is why it could partially control the aircraft. Pilots made much effort to move the both steering wheels. As a result, the manual control cables cut channels in the debris that clamped them and began to move. Thus, at the final stage of the flight, manual control was partially resumed.

Captain, first officer and flight engineer received awards. The captain continued his flying career until the age of retirement.