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satisfactory physical condition.
Captain Wright had had a rest period of more than 24 hours prior to going on duty October 2, 1941. First Officer Bininger had had a rest period of about eight hours prior to going on duty October 2, 1941, and had flown 2 hours and 50 minutes during the 24-hour period preceding the departure of the trip in question.
Thus, it appears from the evidence that both Captain Wright and First Office Bininger were physically qualified, and held proper certificates of competency for the flight involved.
Airplane and Equipment
Aircraft NC 25691 was a DC-3, manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., of Santa Monica, California, and was purchased by PCA on September 23, 1940. It was powered with two Wright Cyclone G102A engines, each rated at 1100 h.p. for take-off, and was equipped with Hamilton Standard, constant speed, hydromatic, full-feathering propellers. This modal airplane had been approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for air carrier operation over the routes flown by PCA with 21 passengers and a crew of three. The airplane, as equipped with de-icers had been certificated for operation with a standard weight of 24,546 pounds. 2/ At the time of departure of Trip 142 from Pittsburgh, the total weight of the aircraft was approximately 23, 630 pounds including mail, cargo, 325 gallons of fuel, 40 gallons of oil, 19 passengers and a crew of three. The record further shows that the airplane was loaded in
2/ The "standard weight" of an airplane is the maximum allowable weight for landing.
