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provisional gross weight of 25,346 pounds.[1] At the time of departure of Trip 21 from Washington, the gross weight of the aircraft was approximately 25,322 pounds including mail, cargo, 650 gallons of fuel, 44 gallons of oil, 13 passengers and a crew of three. The record further shows that the airplane was loaded in accordance with the current approved loading schedule prescribed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration[2] which was attached to the airworthiness certificate of the airplane.
The airplane and its equipment had received the overhauls, periodic inspections and checks which are provided for in company practice and approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
History of the Flight
Eastern Air Lines Trip 21 of February 26, 1941, originating at LaGuardia Field, New York, New York, and operating as a scheduled air carrier from New York to Brownsville, Texas, with intermediate stops at Washington, D. C., Atlanta, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, was dispatched to Washington, D. C., about 7:18 p.m. (EST) and took off at 7:21 p.m. (EST).
Prior to departure from LaGuardia Field, Captain Perry, with the assistance of the company flight dispatcher and meteorologist, prepared a flight plan for the trip from New York to Atlanta. This flight plan was based on
- ↑ The "standard gross weight" of an airplane is the maximum allowable gross weight for landing, while the "provisional gross weight" of an airplane is the maximum allowable gross weight for take-off. When an airplane takes off at its maximum provisional gross weight, the weight of the airplane must be thereafter reduced by gasoline consumption at least to the standard gross weight for landing prior to arrival at its next scheduled stop. If sufficient gasoline has not been consumed between time of take-off and any emergency landing, gasoline can be dumped by the use of tested and approved dump valves in order to reduce the total weight to the approved gross weight for landing. At the time of the accident the weight of the airplane had been reduced since its departure from Washington, D. C., to well below its authorized standard gross weight.
- ↑ A loading schedule for an aircraft provides for distribution of passengers, cargo and fuel in such manner as to maintain the center of gravity within approved limits.
