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Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 was a scheduled passenger flight from Rochester-Monroe Airport in Rochester, New York to Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. On July 2, 1963, the aircraft operating the flight, a Martin 4-0-4 with a total of 15,970 operational hours, crashed during takeoff. The accident killed 7 people (2 crewmen and 5 passengers) and injured 36.
 A Martin 4-0-4 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 2, 1963 |
| Summary | Pilot error, bad weather as a contributing factor |
| Site | Rochester-Monroe Airport, Rochester, New York, United States 43°07′24″N 77°40′32″W / 43.12333°N 77.67556°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Martin 4-0-4 |
| Operator | Mohawk Airlines, Inc. |
| Registration | N449A |
| Flight origin | Rochester-Monroe Airport, Rochester, New York |
| Last stopover | Newark International Airport, Newark, New Jersey |
| Passengers | 40 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 7 |
| Injuries | 36 |
| Survivors | 36 |
Flight 112 attempted to take off on Rochester's runway 28 into a heavy thunderstorm. The co-pilot was unable to maintain control of the aircraft, and it fell to earth two minutes after takeoff. The plane struck the ground left wing-first. It then cartwheeled wing-over-wing and caught fire.
The co-pilot was flying the plane from the left seat in violation of company policy. Both pilots working together were unable to control the plane, as the wind had shifted from a headwind to a tailwind.
The Civil Aeronautics Board found the cause of the accident to be the pilot's decision to take off in bad weather, and cited the weather itself as a contributing factor.