Captain Wilson and First Officer Butterfield agreed that the engines, propellers, airplane controls and radio equipment were functioning normally during the entire flight.
The fact that there was an appreciable amount of ice still on the aircraft after landing was substantiated by witnesses. Two westbound pilots landed at Cleveland shortly before the arrival of Trip 12. They told Captain Wilson that they had encountered icing conditions shortly after leaving New York. Testimony revealed that the pitot heater and propeller de-icers were turned on prior to entering the overcast and remained on until the plane broke out of the overcast at approximately 2000 feet. The captain testified that a small amount of ice had collected on the windshield, but he considered conditions did not require the use of wing de-icers. The ice on the windshield soon melted and no further concern was felt by the captain or first officer. Had they used their flashlight the amount of ice on the wing might have been ascertained, and had they circled the airport after breaking through the overcast the ice would have melted.
Although it was the policy of United to use flaps when landing, testimony revealed that this was not done. First Officer Butterfield stated that he was prepared to lower the flaps pending instructions from the pilot, but the order was not given. The captain gave no reason for his failure to make use of the flaps.
The first officer further stated that it was customary to call out the indicated air speeds during the landing below 120 m.p.h., but that Captain Wilson had requested him not to do so. However, his instructions were to observe their speed and report to the captain if there was anything unusual. Captain Wilson testified that he had requested several first officers with whom he had flown not to call out the air speed readings as he preferred to
