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Downeast Airlines Flight 46

Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterAirliner accidents and incidents in MaineAviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1979May 1979 events in the United StatesUse mdy dates from April 2014
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 wreckage
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 wreckage

Downeast Airlines Flight 46 was a scheduled airline service in the United States from Boston's Logan International Airport to Rockland, Maine operated by Downeast Airlines. On May 30, 1979 a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter operating the flight crashed during a nonprecision approach to Rockland's Knox County Regional Airport. All but one of the 18 people on board were killed. The cause of the accident was controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) after the failure of the flight crew to stop the aircraft's descent below the minimum descent altitude for the non-precision approach at Knox County airport. The investigation into the accident looked into the airline's corporate culture as a contributing factor to the crash; this was the first time an investigation took this approach to an air crash. The crash of Flight 46 is currently the deadliest to have occurred in the state of Maine. At the time of the crash, the crew had descended the Twin Otter below the minimum descent altitude in order to see the runway in heavy fog.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Downeast Airlines Flight 46 (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Downeast Airlines Flight 46
Muscle Ridge Township

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N 44.02 ° E -69.06 °
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Muscle Ridge Township


Muscle Ridge Township
Maine, United States
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Downeast Airlines Flight 46 wreckage
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 wreckage
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Knox County Regional Airport
Knox County Regional Airport

Knox County Regional Airport (IATA: RKD, ICAO: KRKD, FAA LID: RKD) is a county-owned, public-use airport in the town of Owls Head, Knox County, Maine, United States. It is located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of Rockland, Maine. The airport serves the residents of midcoast Maine with commercial and charter aviation services. Scheduled airline service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. It is also a major hub of freight and mail service to Maine's island communities including Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 13,866 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 14,461 enplanements in 2009, and 17,657 in 2010. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).During the summer months, the airport is one of Maine's busiest, with significant private jet operations bringing visitors to the numerous summer colonies in the Penobscot Bay region. The influx in traffic in recent years prompted the implementation of a voluntary night curfew on arrivals and departures between 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Owls Head Transportation Museum is also situated at the airport on the remains of runway 17/35, a third runway that is now abandoned. It has a museum of antique autos, aircraft, and engines. During the summer special event gatherings are held for enthusiasts.

Spruce Head, Maine
Spruce Head, Maine

Spruce Head is an unincorporated village in Knox County, Maine, United States. The community is located on Penobscot Bay and Maine State Route 73 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of Rockland. Spruce Head has a post office with ZIP code 04859, which opened on March 4, 1880.The village of Spruce Head lies partly in the township of South Thomaston and partly in the township of St. George and is connected by a bridge to Sprucehead Island, which is entirely within the borders of South Thomaston. The island faces the Muscle Ridge Islands to the east across a channel. Seal Harbor is a well-protected anchorage formed by the southern shore of Sprucehead Island, the eastern shores of Patten Point and Rackliff Island, and the northern shores of Norton Island and Whitehead Island. Spruce Head village centers on the post office, Spruce Head Community Church (built in the late 19th century), and the Spruce Head Community Hall (built in 1923). An additional hamlet considered part of Spruce Head is found along Clark Island Road on the western shore of Wheeler Bay and lies within the township of St. George. It affords access to the Clark Island Preserve, a part of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Spruce Head was the boyhood home of poet and Connecticut Governor Wilbert Snow, who was born on Whitehead Island and is buried in the Ocean View Cemetery at Spruce Head. The island is home to an active lobster fishing fleet, several lobster wholesalers, and a lobster shack, which in 2017 was reviewed by Yankee Magazine as having the best lobster roll in Maine. The Spruce Head Fisherman's Co-op is the third largest fishing co-operative in Maine. In 2022 the Spruce Head fleet recorded landings valued at $18.29 million, the fourth highest in Maine for the year.