Douglas DC-2 accident at Wawona, United States of America, 1 Mar 1938 (NC13789)

Accident narrative

The airplane departed San Francisco Airport around 1930LT in good weather conditions. Two hours later, weather conditions deteriorated and the crew requested to ATC to divert to Los Angeles. At this time, storm activity and icing conditions were reported by the crew. Two minutes later, the aircraft crashed on Mt Buena Vista located in the Yosemite National Park, near Wawona. SAR operations were quickly initiated but later suspended as no trace of the aircraft nor the nine occupants was found. Walkers found the wreckage on 12 June 1938. Crew: John D. Graves, pilot, Clyde W. Wallace, copilot, Martha Mae Wilson, stewardess. Passengers: Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Walts, Victor Krause, Tracy Dirlam, Mary Louise Dirlam, N. N. Salisbury.

Probable cause (official findings): According to the US Bureau of Air Commerce, the pilot must have temporarily lost his bearings due to a change in the direction of the wind and a sharp increase in its velocity, unknown to him, leading to confusion as to his position relative to the Fresno radio range course. The subsequent crash occurred in darkness and, apparently, in an area of heavy snowfall. This resulted in a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).