Burbank

En route to San Francisco, the crew encountered severe icing conditions and received the permission to return to Burbank. Shortly later, the pilot realized this was not possible and reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed in a field located along a highway in Newhall. The aircraft slid on the ground and hit an electric pole before coming to rest. All three crew members were unhurt while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The twin engine aircraft was en route from Los Angeles to Burbank with two pilots and one passenger. It was scheduled to make a stop in Burbank to pick up passengers before continuing to San Diego. As the crew did not receive the permission to start the descent to Burbank-Hollywood Airport, he stacked in a holding pattern southwest of Santa Clarita when the aircraft hit the Mt Rocky Peak. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed. The airplane was owned by the American Aviator Jacqueline Cochran who was not on board at the time of the accident.

While cruising in reduced visibility, the single engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 18 miles east of Salinas. All five occupants were killed, among them four sailors from the Naval Base at Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay.

At approximately 2235, June 11, 1948, the flight departed from Burbank, California, for Fort Worth, Texas, via El Paso, Texas. Prior to takeoff a VFR2 flight plan was filed, the weather being clear. Only cargo was carried the only persons aboard being the crew, which consisted of John Dobson, pilot, and John Leslie, copilot. After departure from Burbank, the flight proceeded en route to El Paso at the specified flight plan altitude of 9,000 feet. Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff, over the vicinity of Palmdale, California, control of the aircraft was given to the copilot, and the pilot went to sleep. No trouble was experienced until 0048, at which time the copilot observed flames, deep orange in color and extending about two feet rearward, coming from under the cowl flaps around the entire circumference of the left engine. The pilot was awakened by a shout, and he immediately assumed control of the aircraft. In an attempt to control the fire the crew discharged the emergency fire bottle, cut the fuel flow to the engine, and feathered the propeller, however, the fire continued to burn intensely and the propeller did not feather. A descent for an emergency landing was started, during which the color of the flame changed to brilliant white. It appeared to the crew that the nacelle skin and the leading edge of the wing were burning. Three emergency radio transmissions from NC-79042 were intercepted by an Air Force airplane which relayed the message to Tucson Radio at 0056. To correct excessive air speed the crew reduced power to the right engine and raised the nose of the aircraft. Then the cockpit filled with smoke to the extent that the crew were unable to see the instruments. The aircraft vibrated violently, then fell into an uncontrolled spin or spiral. At approximately 4,000 feet smoke cleared from the cockpit and control of the aircraft was regained. During the descent the burning engine had fallen from the wing, and after regaining control, the crew could observe no sign of fire. Since the aircraft seemed to fly satisfactorily, a right turn towards Tucson, approximately 47 miles to the southeast, was made. In the turns however, altitude could not be maintained, and the aircraft became increasingly right-wing heavy. Accordingly it was decided to land at Eloy, Arizona, 45 miles northwest of Tucson which was observed straight ahead. Ground witnesses in Eloy saw the aircraft at a low altitude with fire in the left wing. A crash landing was made in a wheat stubble field one-fourth mile northeast of Eloy and the crew escaped through the cockpit hatch from the burning aircraft.

Just before reaching Las Vegas, however, a distance of 268 miles from Burbank, Captain Clark stated that his fuel quantity gauges indicated that he had 360 gallons of fuel remaining. Since he believed this to be sufficient to reach destination, he did not land at Las Vegas which was generally used as a fueling stop for Slick Airways. From Las Vegas to Palmdale, lighter winds were encountered resulting in a ground speed averaging 180 miles per hour. Palmdale was flown over at 1025, at which time the aircraft had been in the air a total of 5 hours and 18 minutes. Three minutes after passing over Palmdale, which was clear, the left engine fuel pressure dropped to 3 pounds, the red fuel warning light came on, and the left engine stopped. Fuel selector valves were changed, and as a result power was restored to the left engine. Captain Clark suspected a fuel leak. He inspected the aircraft for visible loss of fuel or fire, found none, and continued on to Burbank. As the flight approached Newhall California, Burbank reported a ceiling of 1,600 feet with visibility of two and one-half miles. The flight was instructed by the Los Angeles Airways Traffic Control Center to hold on the northwest course of the Burbank range, and advised that the approach clearance Into Burbank could be expected at approximately 1052. Captain Clerk informed the Burbank control tower that he was losing fuel and wanted to land as soon as possible, however, he declined to declare an emergency. Shortly after this, the left engine stopped for the second time, but power was again restored by changing the positions of the fuel selector valves. At 1056, approach clearance into Burbank was given, and at 1058, the flight reported inbound over the Chatsworth fan marker, approximately 14 miles from the Lockheed Air Terminal. The ceiling over Burbank had by this time lowered to 1,000 feet, and rain showers had reduced visibility to about one mile. As the flight descended below 1,600 feet only intermittent bursts of power could be secured from the left engine. The “letdown” was continued, the Burbank radio range station and the Lockheed Air Terminal were passed. Upon completion of a right turn to return to the range station the right engine stopped, and the propeller was immediately feathered. At an altitude of 200 to 400 feet, Captain Clark recognized almost immediately underneath him a hangar on the Lockheed Air Terminal. He executed a sharp right turn of approximately 270 degrees, and landed on the north-south taxi way about 400 feet before crossing Runway 7, a distance of approximately 1,900 feet from the south boundary of the airport. Brakes were applied, but the aircraft could not be brought to a stop within the airport boundaries. It came to rest only after skidding across a highway and railroad line adjacent to the south boundary of the airport.

At 0324LT, the crew informed ATC about his position at 9,000 feet vertical to Newhall and six minutes later, he obtained the permission to descend. At 0341LT, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt White located 14 miles south of Lebec and disintegrated on impact. All 11 occupants were killed. It appears that at the time of the accident, the aircraft was off track to the east by ten miles due to strong west winds, and it hit the mountain 75 feet below the summit.

Following an uneventful flight from El Paso, the crew started the approach to Burbank-Hollywood-Lockheed Air Terminal at night. Due to low visibility caused by poor weather conditions, the pilot was unable to localize the airport and decided to proceed to the alternate airfield, Palmdale. Few minutes later, as it was flying at a too low altitude, the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed on the slope of a wooded hill located in the Verdigo mountains, some 4 miles northeast of the Burbank Airport. All 24 occupants were killed.

The flight was cleared to Burbank Airport for a standard instrument approach. During the approach the plane descended under instrument conditions to such a low altitude as to clip the tree tops and strike a power line pole and then crash at a point approximately 6 1/2 miles short of the Burbank Airport. In a normal approach the plane would have flown over this point at an altitude of about 1650 feet above the ground. The specific reasons for the plane's descent below the minimums for instrument approach were not determinable, nor was it possible to tell whether the deviation was a voluntary one. Investigation did reveal, however, that a number of divisions were made from the company's standard Civil Aeronautics Administration approved procedures during this flight. Both pilots and six passengers were killed.
Crew:
John Pollard Snowden, pilot, †
Thomas Leo Bamberger, copilot, †
Donna Elizabeth Marr, hostess.

Flight 8 took off at 1600 and proceeded according to plan to a cruising altitude of 10,000 feet for Burbank on an instrument clearance. It reported over Fresno on schedule cruising at 10,000 feet and estimated Bakersfield at 1735. At 1712 the crew was last contacted by the company and given a routine message which was acknowledged. Thereafter, at intervals of a few minutes, numerous unsuccessful attempts were made to contact the flight. At no time did the captain report any difficulty with the airplane or comment on the weather. While cruising in poor weather conditions (thunderstorm and severe turbulence), the aircraft went out of control, got inverted and dove into the ground prior to crash in a field. All 24 occupants were killed.

While cruising on airway 5 at an altitude of 9,000 feet, the DC-3 collided with a USAAF Lockheed B-34 Ventura II registered 41-38116 and performing a flight from Long Beach to Palm Springs with two pilots on board. Following the collision, the DC-3 dove into the ground and crashed 3 miles north of Palm Springs, killing all 12 occupants. The Ventura was able to land safely at Palm Springs Airport. The American composer Ralph Rainger was among the passengers.
Crew:
Charles Fred Pedley, pilot,
Louis Frederick Reppert Jr., copilot,
Estelle Frances Regan, stewardess.