Eastern Air Lines Flight 304

Among the dead were American singer and actor Kenneth Spencer and Marie-Hélène Lefaucheux, a women's and human rights activist and member of the French delegation to the United Nations.The aircraft disappeared from radar nine minutes after takeoff, at 2:10 a.m. Good visibility and calm winds prevailed at the time of the accident, although light rain was also falling.The Coast Guard and other searchers spotted wreckage hours later around dawn in Lake Pontchartrain, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of New Orleans.[2][3] The subsequent investigation concluded that the jet crashed into Lake Pontchartrain en route due to "degradation of aircraft stability characteristics in turbulence, because of abnormal longitudinal trim component positions.A [United States] Coast Guard pilot said there were indications that the plane had exploded either in the air or on impact.

Loss of controlLake PontchartrainNew Orleans, LouisianaUnited StatesDouglas DC-8-21Eastern Air LinesRegistrationMexico City International AirportNew Orleans International AirportAtlanta International AirportDulles International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International AirportDouglas DC-8New Orleans International AirportWashington Dulles International AirportKenneth SpencerMarie-Hélène LefaucheuxFrenchUnited NationsCaptainFirst OfficerFlight EngineerMexico CityNew York CityNew OrleansAtlantaWashington, D.C.turbulencehuman rightsCoast Guardflight data recorderhorizontal stabilizerAviation safetyList of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraftTrans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831Aviation Safety NetworkAviation accidents and incidentsSavage Mountain B-52 crashT-39 shootdownBritish Eagle International Airlines Flight 802/6Paradise Airlines Flight 901AMachida F-8 crashMiddle East Airlines Flight 444Pacific Air Lines Flight 773Philippine Air Lines Flight F26Civil Air Transport Flight 106United Air Lines Flight 823Aeroflot Flight 721VASP Flight 141Mt. Alcazaba UTA Douglas DC-6 crashBonanza Air Lines Flight 114Linjeflyg Flight 267VTWA Flight 800Flying Tiger Line Flight 282National Airlines Flight 2511Capital Airlines Flight 20Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698World Airways Flight 830Eastern Air Lines Flight 375Cal Poly football teamNew York mid-air collisionGoldsboro B-52 crashAmerican Airlines Flight 1502Yuba City B-52 crashUnited Air Lines Flight 859Alaska Airlines Flight 779TWA Flight 529Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crashAmerican Airlines Flight 1Continental Airlines Flight 11Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301United Air Lines Flight 297Eastern Air Lines Flight 512Elephant Mountain B-52Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705Camden PA-24Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293Mohawk Airlines Flight 112Pan Am Flight 214USAF KC-135 WichitaEastern Air Lines Flight 663Pan Am Flight 843Continental Airlines Flight 12Allegheny Airlines Flight 604United Air Lines Flight 389American Airlines Flight 383United Air Lines Flight 227Carmel mid-air collisionNASA T-38 crashAmerican Flyers Airline Flight 280/DBraniff International Airways Flight 250West Coast Airlines Flight 956Lake Central Airlines Flight 527TWA Flight 553West Coast Airlines Flight 720Delta Air Lines Flight 9877Mohawk Airlines Flight 40Piedmont Airlines Flight 22Lake Erie skydiving disasterTWA Flight 159X-15 Flight 3-65-97TWA Flight 128Ozark Air Lines Flight 965Braniff International Airways Flight 352Los Angeles Airways Flight 841Los Angeles Airways Flight 417Northeast Airlines Flight 946Japan Air Lines Flight 2Pan Am Flight 281Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55Allegheny Airlines Flight 736Pan Am Flight 799Ozark Air Lines Flight 982North Central Airlines Flight 458Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933United Air Lines Flight 266Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Prinair Flight 277Delta Air Lines Flight 821TWA Flight 5787Newton Cessna 172 crashAllegheny Airlines Flight 853Mohawk Airlines Flight 411