Flight Details
West Coast Airlines Flight 703 was a pilot training flight intended to qualify a company DC-3 captain for the F-27 aircraft. The aircraft, registered as N2703, arrived at Salt Lake City Municipal Airport on January 17, 1963, at 1431 as Flight 752 from Seattle, with stops in Washington, Montana, and Idaho. The flight was uneventful, with no carryover discrepancies in the flight log. After turnaround servicing, the aircraft departed the West Coast ramp at about 1506 with three occupants: Check Pilot Instructor William Harvey Lockwood, Trainee Captain Elmer J. Cook, and FAA Carrier Inspector Buell Z. Davis. A VFR flight plan listed Cook as first officer and Davis as crew member, with a duration of 1 hour 30 minutes. At departure, Cook occupied the left pilot seat, Lockwood the right, and Davis the observer's seat. The aircraft carried approximately 3,500 pounds of fuel, with a computed gross weight of 28,310 pounds (about 7,000 pounds below maximum takeoff weight) and a center of gravity within limits.
Flight Sequence
Flight 703 took off at 1510, performed a practice landing at 1517, then made a second takeoff at 1522. The local controller last observed the aircraft three miles south of the airport shortly after takeoff. At 1531, the crew of Western Airlines Flight 38 saw Flight 703 at an estimated altitude of 8,000 feet MSL descending to 7,000 feet MSL with the left propeller feathered, heading southeasterly near the southern tip of Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake, about 10 miles west-northwest of the airport. The Salt Lake City ground controller later observed Flight 703 approaching from the west at an estimated 8,000 feet AGL, flying level over the airport, continuing east over Salt Lake City, then making a right turn to a west-northwesterly heading. The controller watched until the aircraft was about five miles west of the airport, noting nothing unusual. A motorist near the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake then observed the aircraft descending at an estimated 3,000 feet AGL on a northwesterly heading, continuing until it appeared to enter the lake. The motorist did not see a splash; his position was about six miles from where wreckage was later found.
Weather Conditions
The official U.S. Weather Bureau observation at Salt Lake City Municipal Airport at 1555 reported a ceiling estimated at 12,000 feet broken, high overcast, visibility 12 miles, temperature 34°F, dewpoint 2°F, wind from south-southwest at 5 knots, altimeter 30.05 inches, with smoke and snow showers of unknown intensity east. Conditions were similar an hour before and after.
Wreckage and Recovery
At 1700, the Salt Lake City Flight Service Station received a request from the Salt Lake City ARTCC to contact Flight 703 on all frequencies, with no reply. At 1758, the FSS was informed that Flight 703 was overdue. On January 18, 1963, at about 1140, one body and aircraft debris were seen floating in Great Salt Lake, 10.4 nautical miles from the Salt Lake City VOR on the 248° radial. The other two bodies were sighted early the next morning, and all three were recovered.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was the crew's lack of vigilance, for undetermined reasons, in not checking a simulated emergency descent before striking the water.