15 or 20 degrees but it continued along a straight path. When the posts of the fence and the boundary light standards showed up in the landing light beam, Captain Moomaw straightened out to hit this obstruction head-on. The plane went through the fence, across the road and about 200 feet into a plowed field, where it came to rest in a normal position.
Subsequent investigation disclosed that Mid-Continent Airlines encouraged its station personnel to make weather observations and relay these observations to crews of approaching flights. In this case, the operator stepped outside and observed the windsock on the hangar about 125 years away. The windsock was hanging down at the time but apparently this was due to the fact that it was water-soaked and very heavy. The operator subsequently stated that he observed the anemometer on top of the Weather Bureau office and that it was turning slowly. However, he did not enter the Weather Bureau office to take a reading from the anemometer indicator. The observation relayed to Flight 8 was apparently a combination of the Weather Bureau report and the observation made by the Company operator, it was inaccurate to the extent that the pilot landed in a heavy rainfall with a tail-wind of approximately 8 m.p.h. while expecting conditions of light rain and negligible wind. Investigation further disclosed that the boundary lights at Sioux City were known to have defective wiring which caused them to dim intermittently during rain. These lights were dim during the landing of Flight 8, depriving the crew of the principal landmark by which the flight's position on the runway could be judged. Investigation failed to reveal that there had been any malfunctioning of the aircraft or any of its components, including the brakes.
BY THE BOARD:
/s/ Darwin Charles Brown
Secretary
