Logan Airport – April 20, 1974

Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts

     At about 8 p.m. on the evening of April 19, 1974, a Trans World Airlines L-10-11 wide-bodied jet airliner arrived at Boston’s Logan Airport and parked at Gate 17 of the north terminal.  Everyone left the airplane without incident.  Shortly after midnight, the rear portion of plane was discovered to be on fire.  Nobody was aboard at the time.    

     Logan Airport and Boston fire crews arrived at the scene, but the flames spread quickly and the entire fuselage was gutted, with the fire inside burning so hot it melted holes through the metal along the top.  Although there was fuel in the fuel tanks, the tanks were unaffected, and there were no explosions.  One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.

     The plane was valued at about 22 million dollars.  The fire was believed to have started in an auxiliary power unit at the rear of the plane, but the cause was not immediately known.

     The plane was towed to a remote section of the airport where authorities could continue their investigation.

     Source:

     Providence Journal, “TWA Jet Burns At Logan”, April 21, 1974, page A-21, (with photo of burning plane) 

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