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History of the Flight
TWA's Flight 3 of June 26, 1942, originated at La Guardia Field, New York, and was operating as a scheduled air carrier flight from New York to Los Angeles, California, with several scheduled intermediate stops, including Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Dayton. It departed from Pittsburgh at 2:07 a.m., cleared to Dayton, Ohio, with Detroit, Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, as alternates. At 2:34 a.m., while the flight was east of Columbus a special report was issued showing that weather conditions at Dayton had fallen below the minimum visibility limits.[1] At 3:06 a.m. the flight was re-dispatched to Toledo, Ohio with Detroit as an alternate. Flight 3 passed over Columbus at 3:08 a.m. at which time, according to Captain Hortman's subsequent statement, the latest Dayton, Columbus and Toledo weather information was received. The captain proceeded to the Troy intersection with the intention of following Red Airway #27 to Toledo (Red Airway #27 intersects Green Airway #3, on which he was flying at Dayton.) However, upon arriving at the intersection, he elected to circle the Dayton Airport for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not conditions there would permit landing instead of continuing to his approved destination. His testimony shows that at an altitude of 4000 feet, he was able to see the boundary lights and runways. At this altitude, it appeared to him that there was some fog on the eastern portion of the field but only haze on the remaining part of the field. He requested permission from Airway Traffic Control to circle the field, after which he circled three times, descending to an altitude of about 700 feet. While he was circling, he requested a spot weather observation from the company radio operator at Dayton. The operator reported that the visibility was "not so good."
- ↑ TWA minimums for landing at the Dayton Municipal Airport at night were: Straight-in approach, 500-foot ceiling, 1 mile visibility; over a 46° turn 500-foot ceiling, 2 mile visibility; 600-foot ceiling, 1½ mile visibility, or 700-foot ceiling, 1 mile visibility also approved.
