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investigation of the accident in accordance with the provisions of section 702(a)(2) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended. Accident investigators of the Board arrived in Salt Lake City early on the morning of November 5 and immediately proceeded to the scene of the accident. Upon their arrival they took custody of the wreckage and began their inspection.
The record shows that weather conditions in the Salt Lake area prevented any search for the airplane over the higher terrain until about 9 a.m. on November 4. The wreckage was sighted from the air at about 10:35 a.m. and ground crews were immediately organized and dispatched to the scene of the accident. From the time of the arrival of the first person at the scene of the accident until the arrival of the Boards investigators, the wreckage was under constant guard by public officials. William A. Mollraith, the town marshal of Centerville, Utah, arrived at the scene of the accident at approximately 2 p.m., November 4, 1940, and was the first to arrive there. He deputized as guards six or seven men who accompanied him. Shortly after his arrival, members of the Utah State Road Patrol arrived and undertook the duty of guarding the wreckage. They maintained constant guard until the arrival of the Board's investigators. Before leaving the scene of the accident on November 5, the Board's investigators employed as guards several deputy sheriffs of Davis County. The deputy sheriffs remained on guard constantly until the wreckage had been carefully examined by the representatives of the Board and the condition of all parts of the airplane had been ascertained.
The radio equipment of the airplane and certain propeller parts were removed from the scene of the accident to the Salt Lake City Airport in order that a more adequate inspection might be made of them. During the transportation of this equipment it was under constant guard either by an investigator
