Air Manila Flight 702
Air Manila Flight 702 was an unscheduled passenger flight from Naval Air Station Agana in Guam to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, carrying 33 passengers and 12 crew members; most of whom were personnel from the base. The Lockheed L-188A Electra attempted takeoff from runway 6L but crashed near a residential area; the crash was caused by retracting the flaps at an altitude too low to clear the terrain after the propeller of engine number three feathered. All 45 people on board and one person on the ground perished in the crash. The investigation concluded  that the pilot should have followed company policy by aborting takeoff in the event of an engine failure before reaching VR (takeoff) speed. Aircraft. The aircraft involved in the accident was a Lockheed L-188A Electra with four Allison 501-D13 engines, registered RP-C1061 to Air Manila International at the time of the accident. The aircraft made its maiden flight in 1958, then registered to Eastern Airlines as N5502. The aircraft was then sold to Air Manila on November 30, 1971. Maintenance records showed the transponder listed as "inoperable." Engine No.2 to be shut down en route to Guam due  to mechanical issues; several pilots reported issues with the No.3 engine in the maintenance log before the crash. Crew. Twelve crew members were on board flight 702 when it crashed: four members of the flight crew, the loading master, two mechanics, and four flight attendants. One of the flight attendants on board was Ms. Nelita (Nellie) Ner, age 26, of Manila, Philippines. Ms. Ner earlier flew as a flight attendant with Northwest Orient Airlines, based at MNL. The cockpit crew consisted of: Synopsis. Air Manila flight 702 crashed while attempting to takeoff from runway 6L of Naval Air Station Agana  at 14:47 Greenwich time on 4 June 1976. Seconds after lifting off from the runway the No. 3 propeller feathered. Witnesses reported that the plane lifted off the runway near the 7,500 marker of the 10,015 foot runway; also noting that despite the one feathered propeller the takeoff seemed normal. After the failure the plane flew at varying altitudes between 75 and 100 feet for a while, then flew level for 1,600 feet before crashing into terrain past the end of the runway; dragging across a hill, pushing through a chain link fence, and striking a car on the highway  before stopping in a vacant space before exploding. All 45 people on board plus the driver of the car struck by the aircraft were killed. Two people who lived near the crash site suffered severe injuries from the explosion. Causes. The primary cause of the accident was the flight crew's inappropriate response to the engine failure. The captain continued flight with the engine failure despite safely being able to abort takeoff, having not yet reached VR speed. The NTSB reported the causes of the accident as: