The aircraft, a BAC 1-11, took off from runway 24 at Elmira Corning Regional Airport at approximately 14:39 EDT. It was cleared to climb to 16,000 feet five minutes later. Nine minutes after that, several eyewitnesses saw large pieces of the tailplane break away from the plane as it proceeded south from Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and flames and smoke come from the fuselage. The aircraft subsequently lost control and plunged into a heavily wooded area served only by dirt roads. No one on the ground was hurt, but there were no survivors aboard the plane. Thereafter, the air traffic controller at New York Center vectored a Piper Archer over the area of Flight 40's target disappearance. The pilot of this plane reported observing the burning wreckage of an airplane, which was later identified as Flight 40.