| Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 | |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Summary: | Mid-air collision[1] |
| Site: | Hendersonville, North Carolina |
| Total Fatalities: | 82 |
| Total Survivors: | 0 |
| Plane1 Image: | N68650 (PIEDMONT AIRLINES) 727-22 Ed Coates collection.jpg |
| Plane1 Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Plane1 Caption: | N68650, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1966 |
| Plane1 Type: | Boeing 727-22 |
| Plane1 Name: | Manhattan Pacemaker |
| Plane1 Operator: | Piedmont Airlines |
| Plane1 Iata: | PI22 |
| Plane1 Icao: | PAI22 |
| Plane1 Callsign: | PIEDMONT 22 |
| Plane1 Tailnum: | N68650 |
| Plane1 Origin: | Asheville Regional Airport Asheville, North Carolina |
| Plane1 Destination: | Roanoke Regional Airport Roanoke, Virginia |
| Plane1 Occupants: | 79 |
| Plane1 Passengers: | 74 |
| Plane1 Crew: | 5 |
| Plane1 Fatalities: | 79 |
| Plane1 Survivors: | 0 |
| Plane2 Image: | Cessna310J.jpg |
| Plane2 Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Plane2 Caption: | A Cessna 310 similar to the accident aircraft |
| Plane2 Type: | Cessna 310 |
| Plane2 Operator: | Lanseair Inc. |
| Plane2 Callsign: | 21 SIERRA |
| Plane2 Tailnum: | N3121S |
| Plane2 Occupants: | 3 |
| Plane2 Passengers: | 2 |
| Plane2 Crew: | 1 |
| Plane2 Fatalities: | 3 |
| Plane2 Survivors: | 0 |
Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 was a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-22 that collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on July 19, 1967, over Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States. Both aircraft were destroyed and all passengers and crew were killed, including John T. McNaughton, an advisor to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The aircraft were both operating under instrument flight rules and were in radio contact with the Asheville control tower, though on different frequencies. The accident investigation was the first of a major scale conducted by the newly created National Transportation Safety Board. A review of the investigation conducted 39 years after the accident upheld the original findings that had placed primary responsibility on the Cessna pilot.
Piedmont Flight 22 took off from Asheville Regional Airport's Runway 16 at 11:58 a.m. for a 35-minute IFR flight to Roanoke, Virginia under the command of captain Raymond F. Schulte (49), first officer Thomas C. Conrad (30), and flight engineer Lawrence C. Wilson (37). While the Boeing 727 was still on its takeoff roll, John D. Addison (48), the pilot of the Cessna 310 N3121S, reported: "Two one Sierra just passed over the VOR, we're headed for the ... for .. ah .. Asheville now." The approach controller then cleared the Cessna to descend and maintain 6000feet. At 11:59:44, the controller cleared Flight 22 to "... climb unrestricted to the VOR, report passing the VOR" and then cleared the Cessna for an approach to Runway 16. At 12:01, the 727 was still climbing when it collided with the Cessna just aft of the 727's cockpit at an altitude of 6132feet, causing its disintegration.[2] Many witnesses reported that the sound of the collision resembled that of a jet breaking the sound barrier. The 727 rolled onto its back and crashed vertically into an area known as Camp Pinewood, exploding on impact.[3]
The accident became the first involving a major airline to be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), newly formed to replace the Civil Aeronautics Board. The NTSB's report placed the primary responsibility for the accident on the Cessna pilot, while citing air traffic control procedures as a contributing factor, and recommended a review of minimum pilot skill levels required for IFR flight.
In 2006, 39 years after the accident, the NTSB reopened the investigation to review possible irregularities identified by Paul Houle, a former military traffic-accident investigator and historian who spent several years studying the accident. Houle alleged the following problems with the NTSB's original investigation:
Houle also mentioned that at the time, the newly formed NTSB was not fully independent of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as both reported to the Department of Transportation. Houle claimed that these conflicts of interest led the NTSB to avoid citing either Piedmont or FAA controllers as the primary causes of the accident.
In February 2007, the NTSB reported that it had upheld its original findings, reconfirming the probable cause that it had assessed in 1968. In a letter to Houle, NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker wrote that the board had voted 3–1 that Houle's arguments were unsubstantiated.
John T. McNaughton, a passenger on Flight 22 who was killed along with his wife and son, had just resigned as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become the next Secretary of the Navy. He was Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's closest advisor.[4]
It is featured in season 1, episode 5, of the TV show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Collision Course".