United States of America

At Spokane the aircraft was checked visually, and departed Geiger Field at 1204 with the same crew, seven passengers, and 800 gallons of fuel. The flight plan was under Instrument Flight Rules to cruise at 6,000 feet Mean Sea Level between Spokane and Wenatchee, Washington. At takeoff the aircraft’s total weight was 33,822 pounds, as compared with a maximum allowable of 37,780 pounds. The disposable load was distributed in such a manner that the aircraft’s center of gravity was within prescribed limits. Four minutes after takeoff, at 1208, the flight reported having reached the cruising level of 6,000 feet MSL at 1207. At 1212 it was given the Wenatchee weather which was below minima. The flight immediately asked clearance to the next scheduled stop, Yakima, where the weather was above minima. While the Spokane radio operator was obtaining the requested clearance, the flight broadcasted an emergency message. This was at about 1213, only some 15 seconds after asking for the new clearance. No difficulty of any sort had been reported previously. This emergency message was copied by company operators at Spokane, Yakima and Seattle. At the latter place it was also recorded on a magnetic tape by Aeronautical Radio, Inc., an independent radio organization serving several air carriers. The message was in three short sentences. All operators agree that the first was, “We are in trouble,” and that the last was, “Going down fast.” The middle sentence was interpreted by one operator as, “Plane gone nuts” and by the second as, “Right engine haywire.” The third operator put down a series of Q’s, meaning not understood. The actual context of the message will be discussed later in this reports. There was no further radio contact with the flight. At or about 1214 the aircraft crashed on the Pundy farm about three miles west of Reardan, Washington, and approximately 20 miles from Geiger Field. All aboard were killed. A flash fire followed impact and burning continued for some time at the end location throughout the wreckage area. Weather conditions during the short flight from Geiger Field to the impact site included restricted visibility due to light snow. At the flight level there was no icing or turbulence either forecast or reported. Instrument conditions prevailed at the flight’s altitude. At the place and time of the crash the ceiling was about 200 feet and the surface visibility about one-third mile.

National Airlines’ Flight 83 departed Newark, New Jersey, at 1333, January 14, 1951, for Norfolk, Virginia, with a scheduled stop at Philadelphia. The crew consisted of Captain Howell C. Barwick, Copilot Edward J Zatarain, and Stewardess Mary Frances Housley. The aircraft’s total weight at takeoff was 58,601 pounds, which was within the allowable gross takeoff weight of 64,211 pounds, the load was properly distributed. Flight 83 was scheduled to leave Newark at 1300, but was delayed 33 minutes due to the replacement of a malfunctioning generator. The company flight clearance was filed at 1215 for the scheduled departure at 1300, and this clearance was also used for the delayed departure. Attached to it was the weather information for the flight, and a notice that the ILS (instrument landing system) glide path at Philadelphia was inoperative until further notice Immediately before taking off, the pilot requested and received from the tower the latest Philadelphia weather (reported on the 1328 CAA teletype sequence report and received at Newark after he boarded the aircraft), which was ceiling measured 1,000 feet, overcast, wind south-southwest at four miles per hour, and visibility 1 1/2 miles, with light snow and smoke Flight 83 was cleared by the New York Air Route Traffic Control to proceed to North Philadelphia range station via Amber Airway No 7, to maintain 4,000 feet, with Newark designated as the alternate airport. Thirteen minutes after takeoff, at 1346, Air Route Traffic Control issued the flight a new clearance to proceed to the Philadelphia ILS outer marker, to maintain 4,000 feet, and to contact Philadelphia Approach Control when passing the Northeast Philadelphia range station. At 1354 the flight reported over Northeast Philadelphia at 4,000 feet and was cleared by Approach Control to descend, crossing the Philadelphia range station at 3,000 feet, and to advise the tower when leaving the 4,000 and 3,000-foot levels. It was also advised that the altitude was unrestricted after passing the range station, and that it was cleared to make a straight-in approach to Runway 9 With the above clearance, local weather was given precipitation ceiling 500 feet, sky obscured, visibility 1, 1/4 miles, snow and smoke, and wind south-southwest two miles per hour. Following this clearance, the flight descended and reported over the Philadelphia range station at 3,000 feet, was again cleared for an approach to Runway 9, and was advised to report leaving thousand-foot levels. The flight acknowledged and reported leaving 3,000 feet at 1404, but no report of leaving 2,000 feet was received by Approach Control. According to the captain, they then proceeded to the outer marker and executed a procedure turn. At 1408 the flight reported over the outer marker, inbound, and stated that it was at 1,600 feet and descending. A clearance was immediately reissued to land on Runway 9, and the wind was given as south-southwest, three miles per hour. The flight was advised that the glide path was inoperative, that the frequency of the ILS localizer was 110 3 mc, that a 2,000-foot extension to the west end of the runway was under construction, and that braking action on Runway 9 was poor-to-fair. According to tower personnel this transmission was acknowledged. The crew, however, stated that they did not receive it. The flight continued its approach past the middle marker to the airport, and was first observed by ground witnesses beneath the overcast and directly over the intersection of Runways 4/22 and 9/27, located approximately 1,200 feet east of the threshold of Runway 9. Although the aircraft was first seen beneath the overcast and within the boundaries of the airport, the crew stated that they became contact at an altitude of approximately 500 feet, between the outer and middle markers. The aircraft was next seen to descend steeply, flare out for a landing in a normal manner, and float a considerable distance. After making contact with the runway the aircraft continued straight ahead, passed beyond the end of the runway, and crashed into a ditch at the east boundary of the airport. Fire immediately followed. Seven of the twenty-eight occupants did not evacuate the aircraft, and were fatally burned. The airport fire-fighting equipment was dispatched immediately to the scene, but efforts to extinguish the fire and rescue the remaining occupants were futile.

After a seven hours training flight, the crew was on his way back to Randolph AFB when he encountered marginal weather conditions. While approaching the airfield at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the pilot disconnected the automatic pilot system and continued on instruments through an overcast. Shortly later, he reported losing all flight instruments and the aircraft became uncontrollable. Five crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in a huge explosion about 10 miles southeast of the airbase. The six crew members on board were killed.

The four engine aircraft left Edwards AFB that day with a crew of six and two engineers of Ryan Aeronautical. After a flight of four hours and a half during which several equipment were tested, the crew started his way back to Edwards AFB. While cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet in clouds, the airplane crashed in the Shadow mountains located about 25 miles southeast of Edwards AFB. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt William Alexander Bailey Jr., pilot,
Maj Gordon L. Payne Jr., copilot,
M/Sgt Robert E. Methusa,
M/Sgt Lilburn N. Cate,
T/Sgt James H. Willingham,
T/Sgt Carl A. Milhoan.
Passengers:
Charles A. White,
Wallace J. Christian.

An engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. Out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in a desert area located in the region of Winslow. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact while all crew members were found uninjured.

Monarch's Flight 1090 was cleared by Air Route Traffic Control (ARTC) to proceed on an instrument flight plan at 9,000 feet, nonstop Chicago to Newark, New Jersey. The crew consisted of Captain Marvin C. Staddon, Copilot Arthur J. Howarth, and Stewardess Thelma Dennis. Total aircraft weight at the time of take-off was approximately 46,100 pounds, 1,100 pounds in excess of the authorized gross weight. According to the crew the disposable load was so distributed as to be within the certificated limits with respect to the center of gravity. Prior to being cleared for take-off, preflight checks were accomplished in accordance with company operating procedures. All items checked satisfactorily, and the captain started his take-off at 0227 on Runway 31. He advanced the throttles to approximately 45 inches manifold pressure and 2700 RPM. The copilot then continued to advance the throttles to a manifold pressure of 47 inches, tightened the friction locks and guarded the throttles with his left hand to prevent creepage. The aircraft became airborne approximately half-way down the runway, which is 5,730 feet in length According to the copilot, manifold pressure and RPM's remained constant, and engine performance was normal. At the captain's command to raise the landing gear, the copilot moved the handle into the retract position and noticed at this time that the aircraft, now airborne, was turning slightly to the left and the air speed indicator read approximately 85 miles per hour. With the left wing down and with but a few feet of altitude, the copilot, realizing an emergency existed, immediately applied emergency take-off power--55 inches manifold pressure However, the C-46, still turning, struck several small aircraft parked on the west side of the airport, and continued beyond the airport boundary, striking a fence and railroad embankment Both throttles were then closed by the captain, but the electrical system switches were not turned off. The aircraft came to rest beyond the embankment and about one-half mile west of the airport's west boundary on a heading of approximately 250 degrees. A fire developed immediately, but all passengers and crew were evacuated before it assumed major proportions. The aircraft was destroyed. The maximum indicated air speed attained in flight, approximately 100 MPH, was noticed by the captain shortly after the landing gear was retracted. The maximum altitude attained was estimated as 25 feet.

Crashed on landing at Yakutat Airport in poor weather conditions. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in the vicinity of the Bolling AFB while performing a local training sortie. Two crew members were killed while a third occupant was injured.

The crew was performing a local training flight when the aircraft crashed three miles southwest of Renton, killing both crew members. The accident occurred in stormy weather.

While performing a training flight, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and decided to bail out and to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a field located three miles west of Coolidge. All crew members were uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.