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maintenance personnel is required at the end of the each scheduled trip and the inspection reports do not show any serious malfunctioning of the aircraft, the aircraft engines, or equipment since engine overhaul. The turn-around, or No. 1, inspection report made at LaGuardia Field just prior to the departure of Trip 21 shows merely the replacement of several minor pieces of equipment.
In addition to the maintenance inspections, United requires its flight personnel to enter comments on the operation of the aircraft, engines, radio, and accessories in the trip log. A review of these pilots' flight reports indicates that the only irregularities reported had been eliminated by the replacements and maintenance operations completed at New York prior to the departure of Trip 21. A radio irregularity had been reported by the pilot who had flown NC 25678 into LaGuardia Field on December 3. He reported that on two occasions during the trip the radio had become noisy and that this condition had lasted for several minutes each time. The radio inspection report indicates that the radio mechanic at LaGuardia Field checked the radio equipment, made a minor adjustment, and reported the operation of the equipment as normal.
From all of the evidence, we find that aircraft NC 25678 and its equipment had been properly maintained and were in airworthy condition at the time of the departure from Cleveland on the morning of the crash.
