- 4 -
thus making available to Captain Cann a choice between Raleigh and Savannah, the alternate airports.
At 12:33 a.m. the flight reported that it was at 6000 feet altitude over Raleigh, North Carolina, and estimated that it would pass over Florence, South Carolina, holding the same altitude, at 1:04 a.m. About this time the flight received the 12:30 a.m. weather sequence, reporting the Charleston Airport closed with 1/4 mile visibility.
At 12:43 a.m. the flight received a radio message from Eastern’s dispatcher at New York as follows.
"You are cleared over Charleston to Jacksonville, landing at Savannah to discharge Charleston passengers and cargo if Savannah weather remains above the required minimum.[1] Your alternates are Raleigh and Miami Municipal"
The flight acknowledged receipt of this message.
There was still ample fuel aboard the aircraft to accommodate this change in the flight plan even though Miami Municipal Airport was designated as a new alternate. The latest weather sequence reports showed that both Raleigh and Miami were clear and the forecasts for this region also indicated that the weather would so continue.
Upon nearing Charleston the flight heard the latter part of the 1:30 a.m. weather sequence reports broadcast from the Charleston range station, which included a special report to the effect that Charleston then had 1/2 mile visibility. Following this report, the captain elected to go lower to "take a look" at the airport, and did so. However, upon descending to an altitude of approximately 2000 feet over the range station, be decided that there was too much fog and continued toward Savannah. His reported estimated time of arrival there was 2:03 a.m.
At 1:30 a.m. the communications operator of the Civil Aeronautics Administration at Savannah, who also acts as a Weather Bureau observer, transmitted via teletype the regular 1:30 a.m. sequence weather report for Savannah, which incorporated a special observation giving the sky as clear, visibility 1-1/8 miles, dense ground fog, temperature 68, dew point 65, wind west 2, altimeter 29.97. In transmitting this report an error was made in the visibility reading, which should have been 1/8 mile. This error was immediately detected and the operator notified Eastern's office in the same building by interphone of his error in transmitting the visibility. In order that there might be no misunderstanding as to the correction, the operator, a few minutes later, went downstairs to Eastern's office and personally advised the transportation agent. While he was in Eastern's office, the transportation agent asked him what the weather was at that time. The latter stepped outside the building and upon observing a marker light 1/2 mile to the west, informed the transportation agent verbally that the visibility to the west was 1/2 mile. Following this, Eastern's Savannah ground station reported at 1:38 a.m. to the Eastern station at Jacksonville that
- ↑ The minimums authorized by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Eastern's Weather Letter of Competency for Charleston, S. C. and Savannah, Georgia, for both day and night landings are, visibility of at least 1 mile with a ceiling of 500 feet, or visibility of 3/4 mile with a ceiling of 700 feet or visibility of 1/2 mile with a ceiling of 1000 feet or higher.
