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had been sheared off. The fuselage was in an inverted position with the right engine underneath. The left engine was torn from its nacelle and was thrown approximately 20 feet forward of the major portion of the wreckage. The elevation of the terrain at this point was 896 feet above sea level.
Examination was made of the wreckage including the engines, propellers, instruments, radio equipment, controls and other parts of the aircraft, by technical representatives of the Civil Aeronautics Board. The results of this examination showed that there was no structural or mechanical failure of the airplane prior to the time it struck the trees southeast of the airport. The right hand threaded terminal of a turnbuckle connecting the down aileron control cable from the left wing to the master bell-crank was found to be unscrewed and the two and threads within the barrel were stripped. However, this turnbuckle was submitted to the National Bureau of Standards for test purposes and it was determined that its condition was probably caused by impact loads imposed at the time of the crash.
All of the evidence indicates that considerable power was being developed from each engine at the time the aircraft struck the trees and the ground. The ignition switch and the master ignition switch were found in the "on" position. The condition of the engines and propellers and the extent of the cutting of limbs and trees by the propellers indicate that a normal amount of power for that stage of the instrument approach was being developed at the time of impact.
A barograph chart[1] which was found in the wreckage recorded the
- ↑ Section 61.341 of the Civil Air Regulations, which requires that all air carrier aircraft having a gross weight in excess of 10,000 pounds used in scheduled air transportation of passengers be equipped with instruments for automatically recording altitudes while in flight, was passed by the Board on February 21, 1941 and will become effective on January 1, 1942.
