Docket No.

SA-111

F i l e KO. 301-45

CIVIL AERONAUTICS B O A R D

The Accident

Pennsylvania-Central L+.irlines I F l i g h t 105 a T January &G,

1

1956

between N e w York and Birmin$,an, L i r p o r t a t 0359 CST~F, J a n u a r j 5

crashed i n t o

rrcek adjoining 3il-minZhm

, 1946, zf ter

overshooting t h e runyvvay during

a lanciin;:.

Three crew nembers -;:ere f a t a l l y i n j u r e d , sey L r c z l paszLngcrE

H i s t o r y of t h e F l i g h t
_I

.-

F l i g h t 105 d e p l r t c f i La Guzrdi? FiLld, I!C;VJ York,

:I.

Y.,

st

1&W, January 5,

i9L6, f o r Pirrningharr,,

,.labam, 1,:ith r c u t i n c s t o p s a t

Pittsburgh, Pcnnsylvanir!, and Knoxvillc., Ttnrlissm.

Rec~?lrlsc cf marginal

vreathtr c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n g a t Firnil?g!ic?m, a dc1r.y of LO Finutes w?s incurrcd

a t Knoxvillc, w h i l e t h c p l l c t s t u d i d t h e c:c:ati?;,I- s 5 t u c t i o n nncl c o n f i r r e d by

tkl-cphonc w i t h t h c cor.pm:;r Flight Dispatcher a t Lashington, conccrning t h e opcrat.ion, The c a p t a i n an2 t h e d i s p z t c h c r z3rc-d k h a t the f!.ig!It
S I

t o Birming-

hnm 1,ias f e n s i b l e inasmuch

t h 2 l - ? t c s t sd-athdr s.;.qucnce r e p o r t i n d i c a t e d

c o n d i t i o m a t Cirmin>;.liarI v r c l l zbcvc t h c niinicums s ; x c i f i c d cor t h a t s t a t i o n , Bn adequate f u e l supj::ly could br, carr-ied, ami c x c c l i e n t . a l t w n a t e .i,irports

were a v a i l n b l s .
/

Departure from Kncxville was madc a t a151.

3 ~ ~ 2 1 of ~tliunder5 ~

able turbulence was encountcred durin,;. t h e f l i z h t ,

z

HoI:cvcr, thi. turbulcncc thc

::LX t i h e r d e r r e d t o i n t h i s r c p o r t i s C t n t r a l Stapdard 3 r d b ? s d 2b-licur ciocic,

0::

was gradua1l.y incrcasin,? and t h e c e i l i n g was lowering.

ovcr the Eii-minghzn range s t a t i o n zt Q3!c8, cltarecl t o Birmin;ham

The f l i g h t r e p o r t e d

cn Fnstmimmts ?.t 3000 f e e t and w : s

,lpproacn Control for approach and Innding i n s t r s c t i o n s .

Clear3nce was e i v m for a. s t r x i g h t - i n 1,zndir.;: on Binway

18, and t h c f l i g h t

was advised t h a t the su,rface xind Vias S W a t 5' rxph o r l e s s .

,

Inasmuch 2 s t h e 3ircr:-.ft was n o t s i g h t e d by 0351, tlic t m : w

o p c r a t o r callcd. F l i g h t 1 0 5 ag?.in t o a s c e r t a i n v h e t h c r a s t r a i g h t - i n aFproc?.ch '

was being made.

The flight advised t h e c o n t r o l

tGiJcr

t h a t a stcl^ildirC; i-3iic;c

approach procedure was bcing exccnted aEd ';ha+, it, WIS on thc: n o r t h leg p e p a m t o r y for a f i n 5 ZpFroacii. t h e ;Illtincter s e t t i n g t o t h c . P l i g h t -.rid
w c 7 ~ .?dvisc.d

? . t t h z t tirnc outbcund

i;t C35L, t h c t o v e r forvrardd

th3.t t h 2 a i r c r 2 f t
R?S

in

a proccchire turc,.

Inasmuch as lsndirig i n s t r i i c t i m s had zlrcady been givcn, no

f l i r t h e r r a d i o c o n t a c t was z s t a b l i s h e d .
To::lcr p x s o n r d f i r s t s i g h t c d F l i c h t 135 on f i n d q p r o n c h f o r a

s o u t h 1,r~nding when i t was apprc:cir:ntcly

F!

Kilt n o r t h cf t h e f i e l d .

The air-

. ..
;

crzf t wzs bcne.?th t h i o v e r c a s t mid i-cmzined visibl;. t,o ground observers

whi1.e making a s1.lallow descent tov1.r8'ls t,hc f i c l d .

:?tien a p p r o x i x t e i y over

t h e approach c ~ c iof t h e runwq;S', t h e descent -,!2s a b r u p t l y i n c r e a s e d u n t i l t h e

Runway 18, i'irst c c n h c t w a s r:inde.

The a i r c r a f t cmtinuec! d m n i;h? runway

i, w i t h i t s t a i l . high for +?roxi.natcly 1000 feGt mhen it s t x - t s d vecrir,, t o t h e

- 2 -

gccident 3s a r i s u l t of i n j c r i e s s u s t a i n e d . Investigation

- 3

t h e zpproach or, i f sc, a t v:hnt t i m e t h c y had becn retrncted.

,J.l ccmtrol

c c n t x t i r i t h t h e runway a t a previolrs Foint.

Thc t r z c k s vcercd t o t h e l c f t

-4-

A t t h e time of t h e accident the p i l o t had completed 8$ hours of

f l y i n g ti;.c between I~CW York an6 Birrninthan,

A consicicrab1.a n o r t i c n cf the

gradients naintainec! h i g h winds ?,13ft but t k rough t c r r a i n cairs,6

, ? .

tlmi2:i.d.

dccriasc i n wind v L , l o c i t i u s ncarcs t h e sur.facc> ir, .C,i,c. v i c i n i t y of Ei-mLighm.

v

A wcatiicr observation nado a t jiinlngharn

3 minutes d ' t c r tlx accidcnt c m t a i n s

decrcased t o alnost z e r o a t t h o tinc: of thi. a c c i d e n t ,

Discussion: *
,

Mo indicafzion of equipment failure was d i s c l o s c d as r e s u l t of t h e

i n v z s t i 2 a t i o n o t h e r t h a n t h a t causcd by i m p c t ,

All evidcnce iIvailab3.e t o

t h c Board l e a d s t o t h c conclusion t h a t t h e a i r c r a t , i t s pmter-glants and i t s a c c e s s o r i e s wire f u n c t i o n i n g nom,all.y a t t h z time of t h c lznding. Testinony of witnesses, the t i r e tracks on t h c runinray, and t h e f m t t h a t t h e tnil wheel was found. unlockcd j.nGcates c o n c l u s i v c l y t h z t t h c p i l o t a t t m p t c d t o turn t h e n i r c r a T t c!urLn,t thL landing roll i n order t o ?-mid c o l l i s i o n w i t h o b j c c t s biycnd t ; i ~ rcm?y, Iionevcr, chi; t o th:

s p e d or" t h c

a i r c r a f t , t h c t a i l rernairied h i g h tiimughoct n o s t of t h ? lmdicg roll. prcvcntisg

approqch 2s f a s t and i n vimr cf thc. f x t t h z t t h c tc?riiv.:hccl r m z h . c d cff

the runw,zy throughout ? . h o s t 213. of t h c Ic?r.din;~rcn, i t czn bc concludec? thRt t h e a i r s p c t d of t h e Zircr?-ft during t h e ayprcazh
3rd

i n i t i a l contact a i t h

the runway was c o n s i d t a r a b l y abovc n o m z l .

t 2 K ! . A son,; t e s t i n m y i n d i c a t x i

the p o s s i b i l i t y of i n i t i a l 'contact p r i o r t o t h e p i n t e s t a b l i s h e d b y the

Doard, no narks wLrc l o c a t e d on the
r m ? ; ~ ~ to r

s u b s t a n t i a t e such t e s t i n o n y ,

--- __ wc?s ~ r b o r n c before reaching th.2 i n t c r s x t i o n of' t h c cast-west runwzy with

.

ruriw2,y 18

M o discropancy was notcd ;rit,hin t h d FroccdiJrcs follm:,d by thc p i l o t

-.

f o r instrument approach.

Howcvcr, it, i s q?r,-:rcnt . t h a t t h t n c n t h e r c o n d i t i o n s

could be made a t Birmingham,

Tlhile t.h e .latest meather report obtained by t h e

I .

a n i n d e f i n t t e broken o v e r c a s t e x i s t e d , . t h e lowest p i l o t irr f l i g h t sf;ated t h a t ,

../
, I

@ions

of whic? were at 7OO,feet, due t o t h e i r r e g u l a r i t y of t h e base, it

may have been p o s s i b l e t o complete a c o n t a c t l a n d i n g approach from t h e

minimwn a l t i t u d e of 900 f e e t .

The evidence i n d i c a t e s t h a t it was t h e intention

of t h e p i l o t t o atte-xipt a n instnunerrt, approach i n o r d m t o d e t e r r z e whether v i s u a l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e airpo?3 was p o s s i b l a . p i l o t decided t o i n i t i a t e

c?

It i s f1,rs::er

ev!-dent t h a t t h e

missed approach procedure whY1-e on h i s f i n a l

approach and t h a t t h e ianrling geai- x a s s t a r t e r ! up.

App~~;ixatelg 30 seconds
I.:??;

t h e r e a f t e r , t h e f i e l d a p y a r o n t l y carx i r . viz-:: anc t h e ge?.r

3 p . i n lowered

f o r a landing.

Iri

t?c,

xJxequen2, descent, t h e p i l o t -ras uri%le t o reduce tne

a i r s p e e d s u f f i c i e n t l y f o r a ?ormJ. Innding z g p r o x h w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t t h e a i r c r a f t mmained airborne over t w o 4 h i r d s of t h e runmy and made i n i t i a l cor.tact at an a i r s p e c d h i g h e r thew n o r m l .

It i s nosslblc t h a t t h a strain of a prolonged flight under d i f f i c u l t

f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s was a f a c t o r i n t h i s a c c i d e n t . :Jhile it i s impossiSle t o

d e t e r n i n e a c c u r a t e l y t h c exbent o f p i l o t f a t i g u e under t h e c o n d i t i o n s of t h e f l i g h t , t h e r e i s no doubt t h a t t h o s e c o n d i t i o n s were such t h a t t h a n normal n e n t a l a d p h y s i c a l f a t i g u e could be expected. DLspatc!i and meteorological pcrsonncjl concerned were i n agresment
8

greater

as t o t h e weather s i t u a t i o n and a l l cvidence i n d i c a t e s thpk, although some

l a g i n f o r e c a s t i n g :rorsening c o n d i t i o n s a t B i r r b g h m . rnw have e x i s t e d , t h e f o r e c a s t s prepared. v c r e completely j u s t i f i e d on t h e b a s i s of a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n concerning t h e t r e n d s i n p r o g r e s s ,

- The meather

qata p e r t i n e n t t o

t h e f l i g h t n e r c nade mczilable t o t h e c r m i n f l i g h t as q u i c k l y as f a c i l i t i e s p e r m i t t e d and t h e r e zppears t o bo no i n d i c a t i o n t h +

I

inadequate c a u t i o n was

e x e r c i s e d i n d i s p a t c h i n g o f t h e f l i g h t o r i n f l i g h t p l , m i i n g by t h e p i l o t s .

A l l evidence h d i c a t e s th.zt t h e f l i g h t cm c q r r e c t l y Jinformed concerning t h e

/

weather ct Bii-r,aingham until r e p o r t i n g over t h e Birmingham range s t a t i o n ,

However, s i n c e t h e lost n e a t h e r observation provided t h e f l i g h t , t h e ceil+g

a t Bfrmirghm had dropped from a reported 700 f c e t broken t o 600 f e e t overc a s t , but t h e l a t t e r c e i l i n g o b s e r v a t i o n was n o t o b t a i m d u n t i l a f t e r the accident.

3 minutes

T!ic f l i g h t as m a r e , t h e r e f o r e , t h z t t h e weather t r e n d

was d e f i n i t e l y l o v e r i n g b u t vas not informed as t o t h e limits t h a t such a

t r e n d had reached. a t tho t i m e of arrival a t Birmingham. Findings: Upon the b a s i s of a11 Svailablc evidence, t h e Board f i n d s t h a t :

1 . Thc comp,?ny, n i r c r a f t a d c r e z vere properly c e r t i f i c a t e d f o r

the f l i g h t .

l e : ! York t o Birmingham 2, Headwinds d u r i n g the f l i g h t froin ?

r e s u l t e d in a prolonged f l i g h t m d c r conditions of v i s i b i l i t y a i d t u r b u l e n c e conducive to g r e a t e r than noPm.A. p i l o t f a t i g u e .

3 . ' l o a t h - c o n d i t i o n s m r e norsening r q i d l y a t Birmingham d u r i n g

t h e f l i g h t f r o n Knoxville.

4.

The pilot executed

2 ,

22

i n s t r w e n t q p r o a c h to EirmiEghm t o

determine 'vdiethcr

c o n t x t l m d i n g <?pprc.nch m s F o s s i b l e ,

5.

During t h e i n s t r u m e n t ?.pproach, t h e p i l o t r e t r a c t e d t h e l a n d i n g

gear; s h o r t l y thereafter, hc again extendec! t k e gear xic? e s t a b l i s h e g a land-

ing approach.
.

6 , The xircrzft

m.3

higher tiim normal, t h e descent more r a p i d

t h a n usual. mad t h e c i r s p e e d excessive * d u r i n gt h e l a s d h g Epproach.

7,
remaining,

Gmund coxhcct vas e s t z b l i s h c d n i t h only 1500 f c e t o f ? m a y

8. The p i l o t attempted t o ground loop a f t e r 900 f e e t o f landing

I .

roll but, being unable t o do sc s a f e l y , continued beyond t h c runway u n t i l

c o l l i d i n g v i t h tho Cree!< bmk,

Frobable Czuse On t h e basis of t h e foresoing, t h e B o d determines t h z t t h e probable cause of t h i s accident

T ~

tSh e a c t i o n of the p i l o t i r , co,mi.tting

himself t o a 1~1.11db-g fron m n p r o a c h xhich ;ws t 00 high

and t 3 o fast,

/ s / H a r l l e e Branch

.
I
II

/s/
/s/

Josh Lee

Clarence M, yolmg

Pogue, Chairmen, and Rya, Vice-Chczirman, d i d not take part i n

t h e decision.

- 9 -

I n v e s t i g a t i o n and b a r i n g
The C i v i l Acronautics Poard received ratification of t h c accident, a t

0600, January

6, 1946, and imncdietely initiated an i n v t s t i g a t i o n i n accordance

( 2 ) of t h e , C i v i l Aeronautics Act of 1938,

w i t h t h e p r o v i s i o n s of S e c t i o n 702 ( . )
as .emended.

A i r S a f e t y Invcstig-itcrs of ti?c 3oard's A t l a n t a O f f i c e a r r i v c d

a t t h e scene of t h e a c c i d c n t a ? p r o x i m t e l y 1430, January 6, 1946, and. wcrc 13tLr

Z s s i s t o d i n t h k i n v e s t i g c t i c n bjj.othcr mex5crs cf t h e S a f e t y ,%rcau s t a f f , I n conncction w i t h t h 3 investigcttic,n t h e Board ordercd which was held January 1 s mcl 16, Alabama
2 . .TillbliC

bczring

191~6,i n t h c County S o u r t HOUSC, BLminghaKi,

.
, Inc.,
VJSS

A i r Carrier

P e n n s y l v a i a - C e n t r a l Air!.ir,cs h e d q u a r t c r s i n v,,nshingtcn, D, C.,

k l r m a r e Sorporstion v it h
FS
c - . ~

opertin;

?ir c a r r i c r undcr

c e r t i f i c a t e of p u b l i c convmimcc! end n e c c s s i t y md rin eir carrier o p a r a t i n g c e r t i f i c a t e both i s s u e d pursu.ar,t t o t h e C i v i l A c r o n m t i c s Act of 193~3, as mcnded.
r-l

l h c s e c c r t i f i c a t c s i.uti?orized t ! i k

C O K ~ I Y

t o f PJ p e r s o m , p r o p e r t y

and m a i l be-i;ween,varions poirits i n the United S t x t e s incli1,ding rdew York, N . Y.,

;

and Biminghan, Aldbcv.:.a. F l i g h t Personnel C~phin Rqmond P a u l i s , a.;f;r: 2 8 , of kbchestcr, .%w york, was p i l o t of t h e

'.!

a i r c r a f t and had a c c m u l n t e d

2.

t o t a l of

4517 bars f l y i n g t,imc of -,;!lich 3617

hours were i n 2C-3 equipmcnt.

,

First O f f i c e r Dplmar D. Duskin, age 27, of

R

Oklahoma' City, Oklahorm, 'was co-pilot m-c! hnct accumulated f l y i n g tim:, of ivhi.ch 777were a s c o - p i l o t on DC-3

t o t a l of 3 L O l hours E i s s Botty

cquipmcnt.

I...

Proctor of k ~ n g t o n ,K C n t G C k y , \:as stQward.css. Captain S , A . Cmscn accompmit.. i t h e f l i g h t f o r 2. r o u t e chr;ck md was r i d i n g t h e lljunp-sentli 2s ?. f o u r t h cren

member a t t h e time of t h e accident.

The c q h i n nnd first o f f i c x

w - 2 ~qualifiGd

p r o p e r l y c e r t i f i c a t e d f o r t h e f l i g h t and t h o captain route. Aircraft

1 .

The aircraft, !iC

21786, was
4 .

a Douglas

DG3 mc?nufncturcd i n JuQi-33'b.L.

.-

I t was sold t o Pennsylvania-Ccntral - L i r l i n d s by t h e A r m y on Nwembe-r 1, 19kk.

T o t a l flying t i m E ivas S,R64:36
Overhaul. hours w i t h 388:16 h o u r s s i n c c l a s t ncljor
'

It was equippcd w i t h l!Wi,giit G-l.2,A cnginos and Hpmiltoa Stnndard

T o t a l time on thc eni:inLs i * ~ ~ 6,688:06 .s hcurs m c l ll,l3l:Z2
A t tht: tine of

propellers.

hours, with 388:16 h m r s s l n c ~ l x t m J o r 9Yi.rhaul.

d e p r t u r e from I h o x v i l l e tli? t o t d t.J.:Fght of t h e plane was less than t h e

allowvablc maximum and t h e ccr,tcr

0.r g m i t y M?.S w i t h i n

nllovmble l i y i t s .

ii