The aircraft involved in the accident was a Douglas DC-6B registered N90773. It first flew in 1953 and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines. The aircraft's occupants on the accident flight consisted of 77 passengers and six crew members.^[2] The passengers were mostly German farmers on their way to the U.S. for a three-week study tour.

The aircraft was on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Düsseldorf, Germany to Chicago with stopovers in Shannon and Gander, Newfoundland for refueling. Shortly after takeoff from Shannon Airport's runway 24, the pilots were cleared for a right-hand turn, but they instead turned left and kept turning until the aircraft had reached a bank angle of about 90 degrees or more. Unable to recover, the aircraft plummeted into the River Shannon 5,000 ft. from the end of the runway. There were no survivors among the 83 passengers and crew. Subsequent investigations indicate that the crash probably resulted from a malfunctioning attitude indicator, a fault in the starboard ailerons, or both. Poor weather conditions and crew fatigue were also cited as possible contributing factors.^[2][3]

• Air India Flight 855 – another accident in which the attitude indicator failed, causing the pilot to bank too far to the left and lose control.
• Korean Air Flight 8509
• Copa Flight 201
• West Air Sweden Flight 294

• A photo of the accident aircraft, taken one week before the accident
• Video of President Airlines Douglas crash at Shannon Archived 2014-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Clare Herald

52°40′47″N 8°56′35″W / 52.6797°N 8.9430°W / 52.6797; -8.9430