Search the Community

In November of 1968, a 4-month-old Japan Air Lines DC-8, "Shiga" with a Japanese Captain, assisted by an American crew, was executing the ILS-28R approach into San Francisco International airport. Weather conditions at the time were 300 feet overcast and 3/4 of a mile. Reaching decision height, the plane got low on glide slope and while a missed approach was initiated, the rear fuselage struck the water and the plane inadvertently ditched about 2 1/2 miles from the end of the runway, and settled to the bottom in about 9 feet of water. The plane was remarkably undamaged. There were minor injuries, but no fatalities. Upon surveying the aircraft, it was then lifted out of the water, placed on a barge and floated over to the United Air Lines Maintenance base at SFO. There, the interior and avionics were removed, all 36 miles of wiring were taken out and the plane was flushed clean with fresh water. Some flap segments, engine pylon components, landing gear parts and hydraulic components were replaced, and the airplane was re-fitted , re-named "Hidaka", and returned to service with JAL about 4 months later. She served with JAL until 1983, whereupon she was sold to Okada Air and finally she went to Airborne Express. She was finally scrapped in December of 2001. If there was one thing wrong with the DC-8, it might be that Douglas made them a little too good.... Executive Summary Kit: Minicraft DC-8-63 (Converted to a DC-8-62) Scale: 1/144th (The OTHER True Scale) Decals: 26 Paints Used: Tamiya Rattle can Gloss White for the solar cap; Tamiya Rattle can Gloss Black used as an undercoat to give depth to the bare metal areas. Wings and fuselage were painted with Mr Color Plate Silver Next. Segments of the fuselage were masked off and painted with Alclad Aluminium and White Aluminium, with more Plate Silver Next applied over that for added shine. Engine Nacelles were undercoated with gloss black. Nacelle nose rings were Mr Color Super Metallic Super Siler, Middle sections are painted Plate Silver Next, and the hot sections in the back are Alclad Magnesium. Wing in-spar section and pylons are gloss gull gray. Modifications: Fuselage was shortened from a -63 to a -62 but using the cut lines marked on the fuselage insides. Other: Steve reports that the fit was so good, that the wings, tailplanes, and 3 out of 4 engine pylons were friction-fit, without the need for glue. Questions, comments, polite constructive criticism all welcome. Hope you likee. Thanks for Shopping! -d-