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not significant weather. Radar service was terminated eight miles west of the Rock Hall Intersection at 2031.
Communication was established between Flight 214 and New Castle Approach Control, which had no radar. The flight was cleared to climb to 5,000 feet and recleared to the New Castle VOR. Flight 214 reported over the New Castle VOR at 2042, 5,000 feet and control was then transferred to Philadelphia Approach Control, which provided the crew with the following:
"... Philadelphia weather, now, seven hundred scattered, measured eight hundred broken, one thousand overcase, six miles (visibility) with rain shower, altimeter two nine four five, the surface wind is two hundred and eight degrees at twenty (knots) with gusts to thirty (knots). I've got five aircraft, have elected to hold until this ... extreme winds have passed, ... do you wish to be cleared for an approach or would you like to hold until the squall line ... passes Philadelphia, over?"
The crew advised Philadelphia they would hold and were instructed to hold west of New Castle VOR on the 270 radial and given an expected approach clearance time of 2110. The crew requested and received permission to use two minute legs in the holding pattern. At 2050:45 the crew advised Philadelphia they were ready to start an approach. They were told to continue to hold and they would be cleared as soon as possible. The crew acknowledged with "Roger, no hurry, just wanted you to know that ... we'll accept a clearance." Approximately eight minutes later, at 2058:56 the following transmission was heard on the Philadlephia Approach Control frequency 124.6: "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY"[1] Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." Seconds later another transmission on the same frequency was heard "Clipper 214 is going down in flames." This latter transmission was made by the first officer of National Airlines Flight 16 (NAL 16).[2] NAL 16 was in the same holding pattern as Flight 214 but 1,000 feet higher, and the first officer had seen the Pan American flight descending on fire.
The aircraft crashed at 2059 in open country east of Elkton, Maryland. Witnesses in the accident area described the weather as cloudy, with light rain falling, and lightning.
Turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing were included in all routine forecasts as well as SIGMETS for the area surrounding the accident site during the period Flight 214 was to be operating in that region.
The weather at Wilmington, Delaware, nine nautical miles east of the accident, was reported, at 2100, to be:
