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question of the use of requisite care by the pilot will be discussed later. It was incumbent upon the ground personnel particularly to make sure that the pilot was apprised of the condition of the beacons. The information in this regard should have been entered on, or attached to, the clearance which was issued at Las Vegas.[1] Moreover, the proximity of the proper course to high terrain might well have suggested to the flight superintendent and other responsible officials of TWA that night contact flights over the portion of the route involved should be operated at a higher altitude than 8000 feet during the period that these beacons should continue to be inoperative.
We shall now consider the propriety of the course used by the flight. As may be seen from the map opposite page 6, the center line of the southwest leg of the Las Vegas radio range has a true bearing of 221 degrees, or a magnetic bearing of 205 degrees, from the range station. The evidence indicates that a course following this center line, or varying from it by no more than a few degrees, is the only course considered proper for flight out of Las Vegas, on the route toward Burbank, until arrival at a point in the vicinity of the Table Mountain beacon, at which point it becomes necessary to assume a magnetic course of approximately 212 degrees in order to proceed to Silver Lake and on to Daggett.
- ↑ Section 61.71042 of the Civil Air Regulations provides in part as follows: "(c) The dispatcher or duly authorized station personnel shall attach or enter all current reports or information pertaining to weather and irregularities of navigational aids and facilities . . . . . affecting the flight."
