What happened
On the evening of the accident, Allegheny Airlines Flight 737, a scheduled passenger service traveling from Washington, DC, to Detroit via several stops in Pennsylvania, was conducting its arrival sequence near Bradford. During the approach, the crew requested a change in landing configuration, opting for an instrument approach to runway 14 instead of the previously assigned runway 32. After receiving clearance from the Flight Service Station and Erie Approach Control, the aircraft completed its procedure turn at approximately 20:31.
Shortly after this maneuver, the Convair aircraft struck treetops roughly 4.7 nautical miles from the destination airport. The impact occurred as the plane moved through a wooded area bordering a fairway at the Pine Acres Golf Course. The force of the crash caused the aircraft to flip over and come to rest in an inverted position. The accident resulted in 11 fatalities, including both pilots and nine passengers, while 17 other occupants sustained injuries. The aircraft was a total loss.
Findings
Official investigations into the crash were unable to pinpoint a single definitive reason for the impact. Investigators evaluated several possible contributing factors related to the flight crew's navigation and altitude monitoring. These possibilities included the captain potentially misreading the altimeter, a mechanical failure of the captain's altimeter following the procedure turn, or an error in interpreting the instrument approach charts. No specific factor could be confirmed or ruled out by the available evidence.