View source for 1961 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash

{{Short description|Air crash in Kentucky, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name             = 1961 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crash
|occurrence_type  = Accident
|image            = Douglas-C-54-NL-316a.jpg
|image_size       = 250px
|caption          = A C-54 similar to the accident aircraft
|date             = November 14, 1961
|type             = [[Controlled flight into terrain]] due to [[pilot error]]
|site             = [[Hebron, Kentucky]], U.S.
|aircraft_type    = [[Douglas DC-4]]
|operator         = [[Zantop Air Transport]]
|tail_number      = N30061
|origin           = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| occupants = 3
|crew  = 3
|injuries = 2
|fatalities = 0
|survivors = 3
}}
A [[Zantop Air Transport]] [[Douglas DC-4]] was on its final approach to [[Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport|Greater Cincinnati Airport]] runway 18 (now runway 18C), when it clipped some trees and crashed into a wooded area north of the airport.<ref>''The Middletown Journal'', November 14, 1961</ref> This was the first of at least three aircraft on their final approach that failed to reach runway 18 at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, becoming victims of the area's hilly terrain with steep changes in elevation from the [[Ohio River]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080127104859/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712003,00.html Time (magazine)]</ref> the others being [[American Airlines Flight 383 (1965)|American Airlines Flight 383]] and [[TWA Flight 128]].
==Crash==
The pilot, Calvin Goutier, the co-pilot, Richard Breathren, and the unnamed [[flight engineer]] were flying from [[Detroit, Michigan]], carrying automotive parts for [[General Motors Corporation]] to the airport for a routine landing while en route to [[Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref>''Albuquerque Tribune'', November 14, 1961</ref> In the crash the [[fuselage]] broke into two pieces and the wreckage was strewn along a 400-foot (122-m) path. The crash occurred about 5:26&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="ReferenceA">''New Castle News'', November 15, 1961</ref>
The plane had been tracked by radar and suddenly disappeared from the radar screen, and airport authorities saw a large flash.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
The crew exited through an escape hatch, surviving with minor injuries (Goutier a sprained ankle and Breathren a leg injury).<ref>''Albuquerque Journal'', November 15, 1961</ref> They walked to [[Kentucky Route 20]], about {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km}} away, for help. A passing motorist, who worked for [[Delta Air Lines]], noted a person walking out of the woods and continued driving to the airport.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Later, Delta employees picked up the crew members.
==Aircraft==
The DC-4 aircraft involved was originally a [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Douglas Skymaster]], s/n 42-72226, which had been re-purchased by [[Douglas Aircraft Company]] on October 1, 1945, and reconfigured into a DC-4. On January 9, 1946, it was sold to [[United Airlines]] bearing US registration number N30061. United leased the airliner to [[Slick Airways]] on June 20, 1956. On June 4, 1959, it was sold to [[Lockheed Aircraft Corporation]], who leased it back to Slick Airways until June 1960. Zantop Air Transport bought the aircraft in June 1960 and operated it as a [[Cargo aircraft|cargo plane]] until it crashed.<ref>[http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1942_4.html att.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213172337/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1942_4.html |date=February 13, 2009 }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{ASN accident|id=19611114-0}}
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{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1961}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1960s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cincinnati Zantop Dc-4 Crash}}
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1961]]
[[Category:1961 in Kentucky|Cincinnati Zantop Dc-4 Crash, 1961]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:Zantop Air Transport accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport]]
[[Category:November 1961 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-4]]