“Pan Am Flight 103 disintegrated in flight over Lockerbie (December 21 1988) because of a massive structural failure due to well-known issues of metal fatigue in section 41 and 42 of the Boeing 747 (Series 100 & 200), not because of an explosive device.”

Lockerbie — Three Decades of Lies: J’Accuse…!

May 25 2021 — On May 25, 2008, a Boeing 747-209F/SCD broke in three and came to a complete stop in a field bordering the runway. Belgian investigators announced that the accident was caused by a bird strike. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

RELATED POST: UK — National Archives Release Prime Ministerial 1993 Papers, Withhold Lockerbie File

RELATED POST: Pan AM 103: RADAR INFORMATION

RELATED POST: Pan AM 103: RADAR INFORMATION

RELATED POST: Lockerbie – The TRUTH, And Now What? [Leo Tolstoy on Time and Truth] — [UPDATE : Quick Note from Lobster Magazine]

Lockerbie — Three Decades of Lies: J’Accuse…!

QUICK NOTES — To make it easier for the readers to retrieve various chapters of this book, I have created a special page  “Lockerbie” where all the links to the chapters will be listed with a brief description. You can access that page directly as it appears at the far right of the top bar of this blog. END of NOTES

Lockerbie — Three Decades of Lies: J’Accuse…!

A few weeks later, on July 7, 2008, another Kalitta Air Boeing 747-209B (N714CK), operating for Centurion Air Cargo as Flight 164, crashed shortly after departing from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. On April 21, 2017, Kalitta Air finally retired its final Boeing 747-200F from service. 

Old before their time — In the mid 80′, Boeing had noticed a serious engineering problem with the front section of the Boeing 747.

In short, due to the unusual shape of that part of the plane, fatigue effects on the structure of section 41 (and to a lesser extent section 42) were far more severe than anticipated. The issue had been expected but underestimated.

Boeing introduced about two dozen “Airworthiness Directives” requiring immediate inspections and repairs. All 747 planes built after the 686th were constructed according to a new design.

It is also said that Boeing switched to a different aluminum-alloy for some critical parts.

Carl A. Davies has researched this issue and published a very interesting book: PLANE TRUTH.

Davies points out that the 747 had been expected to serve 20 years, 20,000 cycles or 60,000 hours.

But the problems encountered with section 41 made it clear that these expectations were not realistic. In some case, “fatigue cracks” would appear as soon as after just 6,500 cycles.

The AIR INDIA 182, PAN AM 103, and TWA 800 tragedies share one distinctive feature.

In each case, the front section detached from the main body of the plane and  thus landed earlier that the rest of the plane.

And, in each of these disasters, a single loud noise — believed to have been caused by the breaking-up of the plane — was recorded. That is right. There is no record of an explosion sound!

In the case of TWA 800, the FBI is known to have attempted to hide vital information pointing to a mechanical failure while trying to portray the accident as an act of terrorism.

“FBI’s former chief metallurgist, William Tobin, testified that bureau officials repeatedly and angrily dismissed scientific evidence that pointed to a mechanical malfunction. The FBI didn’t want to hear about anything but a missile or a bomb, because otherwise there was no FBI case. Their conduct was disturbing from the very beginning.”

Senator Chuck Grassley — Chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on administrative oversight [Washington Post May 9 1999]

Kalitta Air 747 Overrun Crash – Airframe Fractured

AIR INDIA 182

Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal, Canada–London, UK–Delhi, India route. On 23 June 1985, the Boeing 747-237B serving the flight (c/n 21473/330, registration VT-EFO, “Emperor Kanishka”) was destroyed by a bomb at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m). It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace. It was the first bombing of a 747 jumbo jet. A total of 329 people were killed, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 Britons and 24 Indians. [WIKIPEDIA]

PAN AM 103

The aircraft operating Pan Am Flight 103 was a Boeing 747–121, registered N739PA and named Clipper Maid of the Seas, formerly named Clipper Morning Light prior to 1979. It was the 15th 747 built and was delivered in February 1970, one month after the first 747 entered service with Pan Am. At the time of its destruction, Clipper Maid of the Seas was 18 years of age and had accumulated over 75,000 flying hours. [WIKIPEDIA] The plane had 16497 cycles.

TWA 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) was a Boeing 747-100 which exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31 p.m. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on a scheduled international passenger flight to Rome, with a stopover in Paris. All 230 people on board were killed in the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. territory.

The accident airplane, registration N93119, (Boeing 747-131) was manufactured by Boeing in July 1971; it had been ordered by Eastern Air Lines, but after Eastern cancelled its 747 orders, the plane was purchased new by TWA. The aircraft had completed 16,869 flights with 93,303 hours of operation. [WIKIPEDIA]

REFERENCES

Boeing Considers Ending Production of 747

POSSIBLE MECHANICAL FLAWS PROBED IN FLIGHT 800 CASE

FBI Sought to Suppress Report on TWA Crash

BOOK: PLANE TRUTH – Carl A. Davies

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On This Day — Kalitta Air Boeing 747 Breaks Up at Take off from Brussels Airport (May 25 2008)