Douglas DC-3A accident at Fairfield, Utah, 15 Dec 1942

Accident narrative

On December 15, 1942, a Western Air Lines Douglas DC-3A operating as Flight 1 crashed approximately three miles southeast of Fairfield, Utah, at about 1:22 a.m. Mountain War Time. Thirteen passengers and four crew members were fatally injured, while two passengers survived with serious injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.

### The flight

Western Flight 1 departed Salt Lake City, Utah, at 1:05 a.m., cleared to Burbank, California, with a scheduled stop at Las Vegas, Nevada. The flight plan called for a cruising altitude of 10,000 feet. The flight crew consisted of Captain Edward Loeffler, First Officer James Clifton Lee, and Copilot-Trainee Douglas Mortimer Soule.

At 1:07 a.m., the flight contacted Western's radio dispatcher at Salt Lake City to report its departure. This was the flight's first and only communication.

Weather in the Fairfield area at 1:30 a.m. was reported as high broken clouds with unlimited ceiling and visibility. The air mass was very stable, with light winds and no indication of a turbulent layer aloft.

### The sequence of events

Two Civil Aeronautics Administration operators at Fairfield observed the aircraft pass over southbound at 1:20 a.m. The flight was on schedule and on course. A barograph card recovered from the wreckage showed the aircraft had been flying at 10,200 feet before registering a sharp descent to the ground, which was at an elevation of 5,000 feet.

One of the survivors, a qualified military pilot, described the flight sequence. He stated the airplane had settled to a smooth cruising level and the seat belt and "No Smoking" signs had been turned off. He then noticed a sudden acceleration, as though the nose had been pulled upward very sharply. He stated the airplane reached a peak in the climb, nearly stalled, and began to shake. He then felt a sharp thud and a scraping noise from the left side, which he believed was a collision near the left engine.

The survivor recalled the airplane yawing to the left and the pilot shoving the nose forward to stop the stall. He stated the airplane continued in a partially controlled, almost stalled flight, turning slightly to the left for about 30 seconds until it struck the ground. A witness eight miles north of the wreckage reported hearing an airplane's engines operating irregularly, with full power applied and removed, before the sound ceased.

### What the investigation found

The airplane struck the ground in a practically level attitude at a high rate of vertical descent, turning slightly to the left. The wing flaps were found lowered to an angle of approximately 25 degrees.

Examination of the wreckage indicated that elements of the airplane's structure failed in the air prior to impact. The left wing tip was bent upward slightly past the vertical. The bottom surface of the bent tip bore no marks to indicate ground contact, and oil spots from the damaged engines were found on its bottom surface but not its top, indicating the tip was already folded over the top of the wing instantly after impact. The right wing tip was also severed.

The horizontal tail surfaces sustained major failures. The left stabilizer fractured along the fuselage, and the right stabilizer suffered a similar fracture along with a major diagonal failure. The National Bureau of Standards examined parts of the tail assembly and confirmed that the right elevator failed prior to impact due to excessive air loads.

Investigators determined that the wing tip and horizontal tail surface failures occurred during the same severe pull-up maneuver described by the surviving passenger, who estimated the maneuver was abrupt enough to develop loads in excess of 4G. The DC-3 structure was designed to withstand normal maximum air loads, but the Board noted that the stabilizer could fail if subjected to unusual dynamic conditions, such as "high speed buffeting" near a stalled attitude, or an unusual air load distribution. The use of wing flaps during the descent suggested the crew had lost normal longitudinal control and was attempting to restore equilibrium.

The Board found no indication of mechanical failure in the engines or propellers, and no evidence of control system malfunction prior to the accident. The throttles were found two-thirds open with the magnetos on, indicating both engines were operating at impact.

Recovery personnel found that First Officer Lee had occupied the captain's seat on the left, and Copilot-Trainee Soule had occupied the right seat. Captain Loeffler was found in the companionway. This indicated that either the first officer or the copilot-trainee was piloting the aircraft at the time of the accident.

The investigation found no evidence of other aircraft or balloons in the vicinity. However, the Board concluded it was more probable that the maneuver was initiated by the crew rather than by forces beyond their control, possibly in an attempt to avoid collision with a bird, another aircraft, or some object which they saw or thought they saw.

### Probable cause

The Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was "failure of the left, or possibly both wing tips and of the horizontal tail surfaces as a result of a severe pull-up which caused unusual and abnormally high air loads. The reason for the pull-up maneuver was not determined."