The tower personnel and the pilots involved in the accident disagree as to the information furnished. The pilots testified that they were not informed of a wind shift from the southeast to the southwest although the tower operator on duty testified that the flight was advised on two occasions of such a windshift the latter of which was: wind southwest 13 mph.
Capt. Cavalier testified that he had not consulted a synoptic weather map since leaving Kiemi at 0800 that morning. No wind data was consulted before or after leaving Philadelphia, nor was any information supplied him or requested by him concerning the weather trends at his alternate airports in spite of the fact that both alternates were below minimums during the flight from Philadelphia to La Guardia.
Discussion
In view of the possibility of engine failure having adversely affected the flight, considerable significance was attached to the testimony of the pilots concerning the difficulty experienced with the left engine. However, no trace of equipment failure was disclosed in the investigation of the engine following salvage of the wrecked aircraft and no evidence of fire was indicated. In spite of effects of submersion and collision with objects beyond the runway, the engine and its accessories proved to be in surprisingly good condition. Although the captain testified that the manifold pressure did not increase beyond 15 inches, no reason for such a situation can be determined. From the fact that investigation revealed the throttle controls to be in good condition, it can be concluded that the manifold pressure gauge should have indicated at least atmospheric pressure when the throttles were opened regardless of the condition of the engine. Malfunction of any other engine accessories and even complete engine failure could not have caused the manifold pressure to remain at 15 inches. It must be concluded, therefore that the left engine was functioning satisfactorily at the time of the approach and landing.
