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- SKYWARN® Volunteer
On this date in 1977 a vicious F5 tornado struck the northwest side of Birmingham, Alabama killing 22 and injuring 130. The large tornado touched down four miles northwest of midtown Birmingham and moved northeast at 60 mph. Daniel Payne College was destroyed by the powerful tornado, but most of the 22 fatalities occurred in the Smithfield Estates subdivision which were completely leveled, many to the slab. The tornado also passed just northwest of Birmingham Shuttlesworth Airport, where a wind gust of 72 mph occurred as the tornado passed nearby. The monster tornado finally dissipated just east of Tarrant.
Birmingham, AL (Smithfield) F5 Track
Smithfield F5 Damage
Another F5 damage Photo from Smithville Estates
Other strong (F3) tornadoes caused fatalities near Ragland, AL, and Lindale, GA. Hail the size of grapefruit beat cattle unconscious near Cave Springs, Georgia. The severe thunderstorms formed just ahead of a mesolow that tracked from near Jackson, MS to Birmingham to north-central Georgia.
Map of all tornadoes on April 4, 1977
The worst disaster however in lives lost on this stormy afternoon was the weather related crash of Southern Airways flight 242. The Southern Airways DC-9 had already flown from Fort Walton Beach, Florida to Atlanta then to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After being serviced and refueled, flight 242 took off, landing briefly at Huntsville-Decatur, then took off again on the final trip of the day from Huntsville to Atlanta, 72 onboard plus a crew of 9. The weather had been okay earlier in the day, but by early afternoon an area of extremely severe thunderstorms had developed across northern Alabama and eastern Mississippi, moving very rapidly northeast. Thunderstorm tops reached in excess of 60,000' feet, and several tornadoes had already been confirmed, as well as hail larger than baseballs.
Flying blindly into the violent thunderstorms due to having no onboard weather radar (and recieving incorrect radar info from the Atlanta FSS), the DC-9 was battered by hail larger than softballs. On the ground, cattle were beaten and killed near Cave Springs, Georgia nearby. The DC-9's windshield was cracked and both engines failed (later inspection ruled engine failure due to hail and heavy rain breaking engine rotors). As the airliner became a glider, the brave pilot and co-pilot searched desperately for a nearby airport.....for anywhere to land.
Running out of time, they attempted an emergency landing on a 2-lane highway in New Hope, Georgia (Paulding county). A wing clipped a telephone pole, the jet spun and crashed, obliterating a small country store on Spur 92 (now Ga Hwy 381), then exploding into trees near a new subdivision. At 63 of the 81 onboard the aircraft perished (including both pilots), along with 9 people on the ground (two of them lifelong friends of my grandmother) for a final toll of 72.
Southern Airways 242 overhead crash scene in New Hope, Georgia
Crash Scene
Birmingham, AL (Smithfield) F5 Track
Smithfield F5 Damage
Another F5 damage Photo from Smithville Estates
Other strong (F3) tornadoes caused fatalities near Ragland, AL, and Lindale, GA. Hail the size of grapefruit beat cattle unconscious near Cave Springs, Georgia. The severe thunderstorms formed just ahead of a mesolow that tracked from near Jackson, MS to Birmingham to north-central Georgia.
Map of all tornadoes on April 4, 1977
The worst disaster however in lives lost on this stormy afternoon was the weather related crash of Southern Airways flight 242. The Southern Airways DC-9 had already flown from Fort Walton Beach, Florida to Atlanta then to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After being serviced and refueled, flight 242 took off, landing briefly at Huntsville-Decatur, then took off again on the final trip of the day from Huntsville to Atlanta, 72 onboard plus a crew of 9. The weather had been okay earlier in the day, but by early afternoon an area of extremely severe thunderstorms had developed across northern Alabama and eastern Mississippi, moving very rapidly northeast. Thunderstorm tops reached in excess of 60,000' feet, and several tornadoes had already been confirmed, as well as hail larger than baseballs.
Flying blindly into the violent thunderstorms due to having no onboard weather radar (and recieving incorrect radar info from the Atlanta FSS), the DC-9 was battered by hail larger than softballs. On the ground, cattle were beaten and killed near Cave Springs, Georgia nearby. The DC-9's windshield was cracked and both engines failed (later inspection ruled engine failure due to hail and heavy rain breaking engine rotors). As the airliner became a glider, the brave pilot and co-pilot searched desperately for a nearby airport.....for anywhere to land.
Running out of time, they attempted an emergency landing on a 2-lane highway in New Hope, Georgia (Paulding county). A wing clipped a telephone pole, the jet spun and crashed, obliterating a small country store on Spur 92 (now Ga Hwy 381), then exploding into trees near a new subdivision. At 63 of the 81 onboard the aircraft perished (including both pilots), along with 9 people on the ground (two of them lifelong friends of my grandmother) for a final toll of 72.
Southern Airways 242 overhead crash scene in New Hope, Georgia
Crash Scene
