Douglas DC-3 accident at Morgantown, West Virginia, 14 Apr 1945

Accident narrative

On April 14, 1945, Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Flight 142, a Douglas DC-3 en route from Pittsburgh to Birmingham, crashed into the west slope of Cheat Mountain, seven miles east-northeast of Morgantown, West Virginia. The accident occurred at approximately 1700. All 17 passengers and three crew members were fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire.

**The flight**

Captain Harold Houston Jones and First Officer William Thomas Repack operated the flight, accompanied by Hostess Marion Grace Adams. Captain Jones had 5,914 flight hours in the DC-3. First Officer Repack had 3,832 hours, with 69 in the DC-3. Both pilots were properly certificated for the route.

Prior to the flight, Captain Jones contacted the CAA Flight Advisory Service at Pittsburgh to check the weather. He specifically asked if he should pass up Morgantown, a scheduled stop where landings were authorized only if the ceiling was at least 1,000 feet and visibility was one mile. The forecaster advised that a cold front was in the vicinity and that ceilings would lower below minimums behind the front. The most optimistic forecast, from the Weather Bureau in Washington, predicted an overcast and two miles of visibility after the frontal passage. However, sequence reports for Morgantown consistently showed lowering ceilings. By the time of takeoff, Morgantown reported a 1,200-foot ceiling and two miles of visibility.

The crew filed a flight plan for a cruising altitude of 2,500 feet to Morgantown, which was approved by the company dispatcher and Pittsburgh Airway Traffic Control. Morgantown's 50-watt radio homing beacon was inoperative due to a power supply failure, and the pilot was advised of this before takeoff and in flight. The beacon was not a required facility, as instrument approaches were not authorized at Morgantown.

**Sequence of events**

Flight 142 departed Pittsburgh. Eight minutes after takeoff, the pilot was given the 1630 Morgantown weather, which reported a 1,200-foot ceiling, two miles of visibility, and light fog.

Approximately 14 minutes after takeoff, the flight reported its position over South Brownsville at 2,500 feet. The pilot was then informed of a special Morgantown weather report indicating a 1,000-foot ceiling and one mile of visibility. He was warned that the weather was at the minimum and advised to proceed to Clarksburg if it did not look good. Captain Jones acknowledged the message, stating he would "take a look and advise." At 1656, the pilot was given local traffic and weather information in what would be the final contact with the flight.

Beyond South Brownsville, the aircraft encountered a continually lowering ceiling. Witnesses observed the airplane alternately in and out of the ragged overcast over a distance of approximately 20 miles, flying over higher terrain east of the regular course.

At 1658, the DC-3 crashed near the top of a ridge on the west side of Cheat Mountain at an elevation of about 2,100 feet. The aircraft was seven miles off course and two miles off the airway.

**What the investigation found**

Sheared tree tops indicated that the plane was in a descent and was banked slightly to the right at the moment of impact. It continued through the trees and underbrush, contacting the ground 160 feet beyond the initial tree impact, and skidded up the sloping terrain for another 240 feet before bursting into flames.

Fire consumed the major portion of the aircraft, rendering examination difficult. However, investigators determined that both engines were delivering power at the time of impact, the propellers were set within cruising pitch limits, and the landing gear was retracted. The Board found no evidence of equipment failure prior to the crash.

The Board noted that the weather trend clearly indicated the likelihood of below-minimum conditions at Morgantown. The 2,500-foot cruising altitude was chosen to remain below the overcast, as landings at Morgantown were only permitted under contact flight rules. The Board stated that if contact flight became impossible, the proper procedure was to climb to the minimum authorized instrument altitude—3,300 feet for southbound flights on that route—and proceed on instruments after obtaining a new clearance.

It seems apparent that the pilot avoided climbing to the prescribed instrument altitude in the belief that he would be able to locate the Morgantown Airport by visual reference. The Board stated it is possible that the pilot mistook the Cheat River for the Monongahela River, which provides a navigational reference to the airport, and was unable to correct his error in the poor visibility.

**Probable cause**

The Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was "the action of the pilot in continuing flight over mountainous terrain under instrument conditions at an altitude below the minimum authorized instrument altitude."