What happened
On December 12, 1949, a Capital Airlines flight traveling from Norfolk, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., was conducting an instrument landing approach under poor weather conditions. The aircraft, a DC-3, was operating with a crew of three and carrying 20 passengers. After departing Norfolk and stopping briefly in Newport News, the flight proceeded toward Washington via Richmond.
Due to low visibility and a low ceiling at Washington National Airport, the flight was initially placed in a holding pattern at 3,500 feet. As weather conditions persisted with light rain and fog, the aircraft was cleared to descend to 1,500 feet to begin its final approach to runway 36. Ground Control Approach (GCA) radar operators monitored the descent, noting that the flight path initially appeared stable and aligned with the runway centerline.
As the aircraft approached the landing point, radar observations indicated a significant deviation. The aircraft drifted sharply to the right, moving approximately 1,500 feet off its intended course. While the aircraft appeared to correct this drift by turning back toward the centerline, it vanished from radar scopes when only half a mile from the runway threshold. The plane subsequently struck the Potomac River in a steep, nose-down, left-turning attitude, hitting the water with the nose and left wing first. The crash resulted in 6 fatalities (the two pilots and four passengers) and the total loss of the aircraft.
Findings
Investigations into the accident concluded that the primary cause was the stalling of the aircraft at an altitude too low to permit a recovery. At the time of the impact, the weather featured a 400-foot ceiling and visibility of only 3/4 of a mile. The aircraft's descent and subsequent loss of control occurred during the execution of an instrument approach in these restricted conditions.