Cleveland | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

At 1350 cst, a McAlester FSS specialist gave a preflight briefing to a Cessna 421 pilot concerning IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) along the route & advised that VFR flight was not recommended. Cloud tops were at 12,000', & freezing level was at 1,600'. A PIREP at 1416 cst reported light mixed icing from 6,400' to 9,000' at Oklahoma City. At 1424 cst, the pilot departed Tulsa (VFR), then radar service was terminated. No further communication was received from the airplane. Radar data showed that it climbed westerly, reaching 9,800' at 1440 cst; during the next 88 seconds, its heading & altitude deviated until it descended through 3,200'. Ground witnesses saw the airplane descend out of low clouds in a 'flat spin' & crash. No preimpact mechanical failure was found. The airplane's gross weight was about 150 lbs over its maximum limit. In November 1995, the pilot received 10 hrs of Cessna 421 simulator training; his instructor noted in training records that he met minimum standards for VFR, but 'under IMC conditions,' he 'could not maintain altitude within 1,300 feet or heading within 40 degrees.' Postmortem toxicology tests showed 0.079 mcg/ml Nordiazepam (metabolite of Valium) in kidney fluid, 0.044 mcg/ml Desipramine (metabolite of Imipramine, an antidepressant) in spleen fluid, 0.733 mcg/ml Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) in spleen fluid, & 0.353 mcg/ml Diphenhydramine in lung fluid. These medications are not approved by the FAA for use while flying. The airplane was equipped for flight in icing & IFR
conditions.

Probable cause:

The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain control of the airplane after encountering adverse weather conditions, which resulted in a stall/spin. Factors relating to the accident were: pilot impairment due to a medication that was not approved by the FAA for use while flying, the adverse weather conditions, and the pilot's lack of instrument proficiency in the Cessna 421 airplane.

Final Report:

Crash of a Keystone B-6A in Cleveland: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 16, 1934

Type of aircraft:

Keystone LB-6

Operator:

Registration:

32-177

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Cleveland - Cleveland

Location:

Cleveland

Ohio

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Cleveland on a local training sortie. It crashed for unknown reasons while taking off. A crew member was killed and four others were injured.

Crash of a Boeing 247D in Chesterton: 7 killed

Date & Time: Oct 10, 1933 at 2100 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing 247

Operator:

Registration:

NC13304

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Newark – Cleveland – Chicago – Oakland

MSN:

1685

YOM:

1933

Flight number:

UA023

Location:

Chesterton

Indiana

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The transcontinental flight, carrying three crew and four passengers, had originated in Newark, New Jersey, with its final destination in Oakland, California. It had already landed in Cleveland and was headed to its next stop in Chicago when it exploded en route. All aboard died in the crash, which was proven to have been deliberately caused by an on-board explosive device. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing an explosion shortly after 2100LT, and saw the plane in flames at an altitude of about 1,000 feet (300 m). A second explosion followed after the plane crashed. The crash scene was adjacent to a gravel road about 5 miles (8 km) outside of Chesterton, centered in a wooded area on the Jackson Township farm of James Smiley. Pilot Captain Terrant, his co-pilot, flight attendant Alice Scribner and all four passengers were killed. Scribner was the first United flight attendant to be killed in a plane crash.

Probable cause:

Investigators who combed through the debris were confronted with unusual evidence: the toilet and baggage compartment had been smashed into fragments. Shards of metal riddled the inside of the toilet door while the other side was free of the metal fragments. The tail section had been severed just aft of the toilet and was found mostly intact almost a mile away from the main wreckage. Melvin Purvis, head of the Chicago office of the United States Bureau of Investigation described the damage, "Our investigation convinced me that the tragedy resulted from an explosion somewhere in the region of the baggage compartment in the rear of the plane. Everything in front of the compartment was blown forward, everything behind blown backward, and things at the side outward." He also noted: "The gasoline tanks, instead of being blown out, were crushed in, showing there was no explosion in them." An investigator from the Porter County coroner's office, Dr. Carl Davis, and experts from the Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwestern University examined evidence from the crash, and concluded that the crash had been caused by a bomb, with nitroglycerin as the probable explosive agent. One of the passengers was seen carrying a brown package onto the plane in Newark, but investigators who found the package amidst the wreckage ruled it out as being the cause of the explosion. A rifle was found in the wreckage but it was determined to have been carried aboard as baggage for a passenger who was en route to attend a shoot at Chicago's North Shore Gun Club. Despite the efforts of the investigators, no suspect was ever identified or charged in this incident, and it remains unsolved. This is thought to be the first proven act of air sabotage in the history of commercial aviation.