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The first officer is relating the sequence of events stated in part "...he immediately unhooked the low pitch stop, went into reverse cycle. I immediately saw the other airplane and called air brakes,[1] and I don't know the exact words I called it twice, at least twice, and he came out of reverse, and his hand went to the air brake bottle, and that was the time we collided."
One of the stewardesses, when asked if she saw the parked aircraft while she was in the cockpit, said: "We started down the runway and everything appeared to be just fine. I turned around and started to talk to Elizabeth. As I turned back to face the front I saw a plane in front of us but didn't think anything of this because I just figured we'd be turning in a moment. I turned back to (talk) to Elizabeth and just then I heard one of the men yell 'air brake -- air brake'. I turned to face the front and at that moment we hit the plane. . ."
Numerous attempts were made by the Memphis tower to contact the aircraft and it was observed to stop on the military ramp. Failing in this, the tower dispatch emergency equipment to the scene. Delta 8715, at approximately 0233, struck the left wing of the C-123B. At this time the left wing rear spar of the C-123B penetrated the upper nose section of the DC-7 slightly below the captain's windshield. A portion of this spar broke off and the remainder of the wing was deflected upward and over the top of the DC-7. When the spar penetrated the nose section it collapsed the instrument panel, sheared the control yoke and impaled the captain.
When the Delta aircraft came to a stop the first officer, after first determining that the captain was beyond help and seeing the flight engineer shutting down the engines and aircraft systems, opened the forward crew compartment door. While attempting to use the emergency escape rope, he lost his balance and fell from the aircraft. The first officer suffered injuries from this fall.
The flight engineer, with one of the stewardesses, proceeded aft to the passenger door where they remained until help arrived. The other stewardess jumped from the open crew compartment door to the ground below.
The C-123B was extensively damaged. Damage to the DC-7 was confined generally to the nose section and cockpit interior.
An examination of the DC-7 engines revealed no evidence to indicate pre-impact failure operational distress or malfunction. Investigation further revealed the hydraulic system, emergency air brake system, and the aircraft's landing la-
- ↑ The emergency air brake system has an air pressure supply cylinder pressurized to 2000 p.s.i. The emergency air brake control handle is located on the main instrument panel above the captain's flight instrument. It is normally set wired in the "off" position. The control handle has three positions "Off", "Half" and "On". An air brake pressure gauge is located on the hydraulic instrument on the right side wall of the flight compartment forward on the first officer's seat. Cylinder pressure should read 2000 .s.i. on the gauge.
