NewportAir Flight-1737

Crater caused by the impact of the burning fuselage

NewportAir Flight 1737, also known as the Cologne Air Disaster, was a flight scheduled on September 23rd, 1955, from Newport City to Copenhagen, with a layover in Milan. While flying over the city of Cologne, West Germany. An oil tank that had received poor maintenance exploded, causing the aircraft to disintegrate over Cologne. All 176 passengers and crew lost their lives. The debris from the plane smashed into the neighbourhood of Klettenburg in the south of Cologne, killing a further 13 people. Bringing the total death toll to 189.

## Background

In the weeks before, the aircraft had flown Newport to Ottawa & Newport to Reykjavík. The oil tank located near the front of the fuselage had been overheating due to the previous two journeys. On the 15th, the aircraft was put under maintenance until the 21st. The maintenance workers neglected to check the tank for signs of over usage.

## Accident

In the weeks before, the aircraft had flown Newport to Ottawa & Newport to Reykjavík. The oil tank located near the front of the fuselage had been overheating due to the previous two journeys. On the 15th, the aircraft was put under maintenance until the 21st. The maintenance workers neglected to check the tank for signs of over usage.

On the 22nd, the plane took off from Newport-Yorkshire airport, heading for Malpensa Airport in Milan for an overnight layover. The plane took off at 5:17 AM (EST). The flight duration to Milan was 11 hours & 42 minutes. The plane took off the next day at 17:56 due to a 2 hour delay from poor weather.

About 80 minutes after departure, the plane was flying at 31,000 Ft, approaching the city of Cologne. The last verbal transmission from the aircraft was made at, 18:59 PM. The transmission came from Air Traffic Control at Dortmund airport and it said, “NPA, 1737, contact Düsseldorf ATC 217, Good Night.” Pilot, Dan Gregory replied, “Rodger, Düsseldorf ATC 217, Dortmund ATC, Have a good night.” An overheat warning was sent to the cockpit at around, 19:00, warning the pilot to bring thrust on both engines down. Around the same time, a massive thud came from the bottom of the aircraft, followed by a massive explosion. The pilots lost control of the aircraft as a result. The explosion broke a massive hole in the bottom of the fuselage. As the aircraft began to disintegrate, the entire front of the aircraft from the cockpit to the first row is seats broke off and fell back down to earth. The rest of the fuselage began its decent to the ground as prices still broke off, the entire rest of the wreckage was engulfed in a fireball, burning everyone still strapped into their seats. A landing gear broke off the fireball and hurdled to the surface before crashing onto a nearby highway, injuring a driver.

On the ground, people reported seeing burning pieces of metal raining down and the fuselage, still engulfed in fire, smashed into the neighbourhood of Klettenburg, engulfing many houses. The front of the plane was found in a field 3 miles away. All 176 occupants died in the wreckage, a further 13 people on the ground died in the neighbourhood blaze.

The thought that something had gone wrong appeared when Düsseldorf ATC called Dortmund ATC, claiming that the aircraft hadn’t signed onto their tower yet. Dortmund tried to call the plane but no response was made. They began hearing reports that a aircraft had ruptured over Cologne, after multiple failed attempts to call the cockpit, both ATC towers declared that NPA 1737 must have been the aircraft that had gone down.

## Investigation

The Newport Aviation Safety Board launched an official inquiry into what caused the explosion on board. Early investigators thought it might have been a terrorist bombing while some theories claim that The West German military shot the plane down, mistaking it for a soviet spy plane. The West German government claimed that no military equipment was in the proximity of the crash site. The NASB concluded that they couldn’t find any signs of a bomb being the cause of the explosion. Pieces of the oil tank were found signs show that the tank was overheated and badly in need of maintenance. NewportAir claimed that the maintenance record showed no signs of interference with the oil tank. The investigation concluded that neglect in maintenance had led to the oil tank exploding.

## Aftermath

NewportAir was fined $20,000, for poor maintenance and had to pay a further $10,000 to families of victims, demanding compensation. The Newport Government found the airline guilty of wilful misconduct, with poor maintenance. NewportAir filed for bankruptcy soon after and was purchased by Soilder Investment Group, run by Newportsoilder, and was bailed out. The airline continues operating to this day. The damages to the neighbourhood in Cologne reached 2 Million Deutsche Marks. Nearly 200 people were in need of relocation. After everything had concluded. NewportAir flight 1737, remains the deadliest air disaster, in Newport history.