Background
Texas International Airlines Flight 655 was a regularly scheduled passenger and cargo flight operating from Dallas to Memphis and return, with en route stops at Texarkana, El Dorado, and Pine Bluff. The return flight departed Memphis at 18:42. After a stop at Pine Bluff, the flight continued to El Dorado, landing at 19:53. On the ground, the crew conferred with waiting pilots and used the aircraft's weather radar to examine weather echoes west of El Dorado. They noted a 15-mile-wide break in the line of weather echoes near the 300° radial of the El Dorado VORTAC, about 35 miles west-northwest of the airport.
Flight Progress
The flight taxied to runway 22, contacted the Flight Service Station, and stated they would proceed under visual flight rules (VFR) to Texarkana. The aircraft took off at 20:15, flying a magnetic heading of 290° and climbing to 1,500 feet mean sea level (msl). It operated between 1,500 and 3,000 feet msl until 20:49:47, after which the altitude varied between 2,200 and 2,025 feet until impact at 20:52:19. During the flight, the first officer, who was pilot flying, expressed concern about their position relative to terrain elevation. About 12 minutes before impact, he stated, "I sure wish I knew where ... we were." Minutes later, he noted, "Paintin' ridges and everything else boss, and I'm not familiar with the terrain." Two minutes and 40 seconds before impact, after the captain ordered a descent to 2,000 feet, the first officer said, "I'll be .... Man, I wish I knew where we were so we'd have some idea of the general ... terrain around this ... place." The captain responded that the highest point in the area was "twelve hundred" feet and that they were not near that point. About 14 seconds before impact, the first officer mentioned they were about to pass over Page VORTAC. Six seconds later, the captain stated the heading to Texarkana was 180°, while the first officer said it was 152°. At 20:52:17, the first officer began to say, "Minimum en route altitude here is forty-four hun..." but was interrupted by the sound of the crash.
Accident
The aircraft struck the steep, heavily wooded north slope of Black Fork Mountain in the Ouachita Mountain Range at an elevation of 2,025 feet, approximately 600 feet below the ridge top.