What happened
On the evening of November 30, 1962, Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 was operating a non-stop service from Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York International Airport. As the Douglas DD-7B, registration N815D, approached runway 4R, the aircraft encountered dense fog near the runway threshold.
In response to the visibility conditions, the flight crew initiated a go-around procedure. During this maneuver, the aircraft made contact with the ground while maintaining a slightly nose-high attitude. The force of the impact and the resulting fire led to the near-total destruction of the airframe. Out of the 51 people on board, there were 25 fatalities, including 21 passengers and 4 crew members.
Findings
Official investigations concluded that the accident was caused by the improper flight technique used by the crew when they decided to abandon their approach while operating in fog conditions that had not been properly communicated.