What happened
On a day involving low visibility and cloud cover, Chicago & Southern Airlines, Inc., Flight 804 was performing an instrument approach toward Runway 12 at the Greater Peoria Airport in Illinois. At roughly 12:20 central daylight time, the Douglas DC-3 struck electrical powerlines located approximately two miles west of the airport's VOR. These lines were part of a structure consisting of two towers; the aircraft specifically hit lower cables situated about 65 feet above the ground.
Following the impact with the wires, the aircraft struck the ground, bounced, and slid along a path of 050° magnetic. The wreckage eventually came to rest at the base of a large hedgewood tree, roughly 152 feet from the initial wire contact point. A severe fire broke out upon impact, which largely consumed the cabin and cockpit sections of the fuselage. There were 16 fatalities among the passengers and crew, with no survivors reported.
Findings
Investigation into the crash determined that the pilot chose to descend below the established Minimum Descent Altitude. This maneuver was an attempt to transition from instrument flight to visual references of ground objects to complete the approach. However, due to the presence of low clouds and limited visibility in the area, this unauthorized descent placed the aircraft at an altitude insufficient to clear the powerline infrastructure.