1951 Flight 44-2 Crash Near Little Valley, New York (N3944C)

Flight Details and Departure Delay Flight 44-2 originated at Miami, Florida, and was scheduled to depart for Buffalo, New York, via Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 1000 on December 29, 1951. A mechanical delay postponed the actual takeoff until 1540. The crew consisted of Captain Victor A. Harris, Copilot Hans E. Rutzebeck, and Stewardesses Pearl Moon and Dolores Harvey. The initial passenger load included 24 passengers for Pittsburgh, four for Buffalo, and three extra crew members returning to Miami. ## Pittsburgh Stop and Northbound Enplanement The flight arrived at Pittsburgh without incident at 2115, and 24 passengers deplaned. At Pittsburgh, 29 Miami-bound passengers, including an infant, boarded the aircraft. These passengers were originally intended to be picked up on the southbound flight from Buffalo to Miami. However, because the flight was 5 hours 40 minutes late arriving in Pittsburgh, they were enplaned northbound so that, after servicing, the flight could proceed nonstop from Buffalo to Miami. No fuel was added at Pittsburgh, and Flight 44-2 departed for Buffalo at 2147 on a VFR flight plan. ## Weight, Balance, and Final Contact The takeoff weight was 40,263 pounds, which was 4,737 pounds less than the aircraft's certificated gross weight of 45,000 pounds. The disposable load was properly distributed with respect to the center of gravity. At 2152, the flight called Pittsburgh Tower and reported its time off as 2147; this was the last radio contact. ## Search and Wreckage Location When the flight failed to arrive at Buffalo within a reasonable time after its estimated time of arrival of 2247, a search was initiated. It was not until 1433 on December 31 that a report was confirmed to the Sheriff's office in Cattaraugus County, New York, that the aircraft wreckage had been located in a heavily wooded area near Little Valley, New York. A survivor, who had made his way from the wreckage to a farmhouse to obtain help, reported that the crash occurred at 2225 on December 29, approximately 38 minutes after the flight departed Pittsburgh.