Zone
Georgia

Crash of a Pitcairn PA-8 Mailwing in Scottsboro

Date & Time: Nov 28, 1934 at 0445 LT
Type of aircraft:
Pitcairn PA-8 Mailwing
Operator:
Registration:
NC10750
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Chicago – Chattanooga – Atlanta
MSN:
161
YOM:
1930
Flight number:
EA007
Location:
Scottsboro
Alabama
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
5700
Circumstances:
Flight southbound from Chicago to Atlanta. The pilot Robert Chew was slightly injured. Original load of mail 126 pounds. 60 pounds salvaged in charred condition and forwarded by train the same day from Scottsboro. No data as to any markings applied to salvaged mail. While cruising about at 3,000 feet with zero visibility in a thick fog in the mountainous sections of Tennessee and northern Alabama, the pilot Chew was forced to take to his parachute when his motor went dead from lack of fuel. Chew made a successful leap, landing in a pasture, the plane crashing about 100 yards away, bursting into flames as it struck the ground. Chew is a veteran pilot, having flown every mail route of Eastern Air since he entered the company's service in 1931. He has 5,700 hours of flying to his credit. Since the line inaugurated its mail service in 1928, only 980 pounds of mail has been lost out of 4,277,588 pounds carried.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight caused by a fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Lockheed 3 Air Express in Palmetto

Date & Time: Apr 27, 1934
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed 3 Air Express
Operator:
Swiftlite Aircraft Corporation
Registration:
NC522K
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Atlanta – Shreveport
MSN:
92
YOM:
1929
Location:
Palmetto
Georgia
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Atlanta to Shreveport, while cruising at an altitude of 2,500 feet, the engine exploded and caught fire. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and at 1,400 feet, both crew members were able to bail out. They were found alive while the aircraft crashed in an open field and was demolished.
Crew:
Hugh Herndon, pilot,
Ed Sherman, mechanic.

Crash of a Stearman 4-CM1 in Marietta: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 20, 1933 at 1015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Stearman 4
Operator:
Registration:
NC490W
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Chattanooga – Atlanta
MSN:
4038
YOM:
1931
Location:
Marietta
Georgia
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot was completing a mail flight from Chattanooga to Atlanta. On approach to Atlanta, he encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions when the airplane impacted trees and crashed on Mt Little Kennesaw, in Marietta. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot Glen Fields was killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Ford 5 in Cincinnati: 6 killed

Date & Time: Aug 9, 1931 at 0840 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ford 5
Operator:
Registration:
NC9662
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Cleveland – Cincinnati – Atlanta
MSN:
5-AT-029
YOM:
1929
Location:
Cincinnati-Lunken Field
Ohio
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
One minute after takeoff from Cincinnati-Lunken Field Airport, while in initial climb, the right engine failed. The pilot attempted to return to the airport when the aircraft stalled and crashed. All six occupants were killed.
Crew:
M. T. Odell, pilot,
William J. Dewald, copilot.
Passengers:
William E. Keith,
W. P. Brimberry,
V. G. Baum,
Wrenna D. Hughes.
Probable cause:
It was determined that prior to the crash, the aircraft’s starboard power plant had torn loose in the air, apparently after the corresponding propeller broke.

Crash of a Pitcairn PA-6 Mailwing in Atlanta: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 13, 1929
Type of aircraft:
Pitcairn PA-6 Mailwing
Operator:
Registration:
NC38E
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Postal (mail)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
New York – Atlanta
MSN:
13
YOM:
1928
Location:
Atlanta
Georgia
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
On approach to Atlanta, the aircraft was too low and collided with the mast of radio antenna. Out of control, it crashed in a field located in Fort McPherson, north of the airport. The pilot Rushton Sidney 'Sid' Molloy was killed.

Crash of a Fairchild FC-2W2 in Chattanooga: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 23, 1928
Type of aircraft:
Fairchild FC-2
Operator:
Interstate Airlines
Registration:
NC9711
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Chattanooga – Atlanta
MSN:
534
YOM:
1929
Location:
Chattanooga
Tennessee
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Chattanooga Airport, while climbing, the aircraft stalled and crashed onto a house near the airport. A passenger was seriously injured while all four other occupants were killed. Nobody on the ground was hurt. The aircraft and the house were destroyed.
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