American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Missouri)
Encyclopedia
American Airlines Flight 63 was an American Airlines
DC-3
nicknamed the Flagship Missouri that crashed on October 15, 1943 near Centerville, Tennessee
after ice
formed on its wings and propeller. All eight passengers and three crewmembers perished. This was the second fatal crash of Flight 63, occurring two-and-a-half months after the crash of the Flagship Missouri’s sister ship, the Flagship Ohio.
-Columbus
-Dayton
-Cincinnati
-Louisville
-Nashville
-Memphis
. Up until July 28, 1943, this route was serviced by the Flagship Missouris sister-ship, the Flagship Ohio. The Flagship Ohio was lost
on the Louisville-Nashville leg of the flight, when the severe downdrafts of a nearby thunderstorm forced the DC-3 to crash into a field near Trammel, Kentucky.
After the loss of the Flagship Ohio, the Flagship Missouri took over servicing Flight 63. The Flagship Missouri was a DC-3 built by the Douglas Aircraft Company
for American Airlines
. It had been in service for seven years, since 1936, and had logged a total of 17,774 hours of flight time at the time of the crash. The three crewmembers were Captain Dale F. Dryer, pilot, First Officer W. J. Brand, and stewardess Margaret Jewell Schmuck.
at 5:56 pm, 17 minutes behind schedule. The stops at Columbus
, Dayton
, Cincinnati
, and Louisville
were also delayed. By the time the flight departed Nashville
, it was running 1 hour, 38 minutes late.
Departure from Nashville proceeded normally, and the pilot radioed to air traffic control
(ATC) that he had reached an altitude of 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) at 10:59 PM. At 11:06 PM, the flight requested and received permission from Nashville ATC to climb to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). Ice
which had formed on the wings and propellers of the aircraft made it impossible for the aircraft to maintain altitude. The plane gradually lost altitude until it crashed into a forested hill that rose up 75 feet (22.9 m) above the surrounding terrain.
Eyewitnesses told reporters that the plane "circled desperately" in search of a safe landing place before plummeting into a deep gulch. Local woodsmen observed the plane's landing attempts and later heard the crash, but were unable to summon help or report it due to the lack of telephones in the area. The wreckage was discovered the following morning by woodcutter John Durison.
The Civil Aeronautics Board investigated the crash and determined that ice that had formed on the propeller or wings made it impossible for the pilot to control the altitude of the aircraft.
The ten passengers included two Captains and an aviation cadet, as well as a Texan and four Tennessee residents. The dead included Blan R. Maxwell, the Speaker of the Tennessee State Senate.
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
nicknamed the Flagship Missouri that crashed on October 15, 1943 near Centerville, Tennessee
Centerville, Tennessee
Centerville is a town in Hickman County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,793 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hickman County. It is probably best known for being the hometown of country comedian Minnie Pearl...
after ice
Icing
Icing may refer to:* Atmospheric icing, occurs when water droplets freeze on objects they contact, very dangerous for aircraft* Aufeis, also called icing, a sheet-like mass of layered ice that forms from the freezing of successive flows of groundwater...
formed on its wings and propeller. All eight passengers and three crewmembers perished. This was the second fatal crash of Flight 63, occurring two-and-a-half months after the crash of the Flagship Missouri’s sister ship, the Flagship Ohio.
Flight history
American Airlines Flight 63 serviced a 6-leg domestic passenger service between Cleveland, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee. The full routing of the flight was ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
-Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
-Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
-Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
-Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
-Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Up until July 28, 1943, this route was serviced by the Flagship Missouris sister-ship, the Flagship Ohio. The Flagship Ohio was lost
American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Ohio)
American Airlines Flight 63, nicknamed the Flagship Ohio, was a Douglas DC-3 routing Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati-Louisville-Nashville-Memphis that crashed on the next-to-last segment of the flight about west of Trammel, Kentucky on July 28, 1943...
on the Louisville-Nashville leg of the flight, when the severe downdrafts of a nearby thunderstorm forced the DC-3 to crash into a field near Trammel, Kentucky.
After the loss of the Flagship Ohio, the Flagship Missouri took over servicing Flight 63. The Flagship Missouri was a DC-3 built by the Douglas Aircraft Company
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
for American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
. It had been in service for seven years, since 1936, and had logged a total of 17,774 hours of flight time at the time of the crash. The three crewmembers were Captain Dale F. Dryer, pilot, First Officer W. J. Brand, and stewardess Margaret Jewell Schmuck.
Crash
Flight 63 departed from Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
at 5:56 pm, 17 minutes behind schedule. The stops at Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
were also delayed. By the time the flight departed Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, it was running 1 hour, 38 minutes late.
Departure from Nashville proceeded normally, and the pilot radioed to air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC) that he had reached an altitude of 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) at 10:59 PM. At 11:06 PM, the flight requested and received permission from Nashville ATC to climb to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). Ice
Icing
Icing may refer to:* Atmospheric icing, occurs when water droplets freeze on objects they contact, very dangerous for aircraft* Aufeis, also called icing, a sheet-like mass of layered ice that forms from the freezing of successive flows of groundwater...
which had formed on the wings and propellers of the aircraft made it impossible for the aircraft to maintain altitude. The plane gradually lost altitude until it crashed into a forested hill that rose up 75 feet (22.9 m) above the surrounding terrain.
Eyewitnesses told reporters that the plane "circled desperately" in search of a safe landing place before plummeting into a deep gulch. Local woodsmen observed the plane's landing attempts and later heard the crash, but were unable to summon help or report it due to the lack of telephones in the area. The wreckage was discovered the following morning by woodcutter John Durison.
The Civil Aeronautics Board investigated the crash and determined that ice that had formed on the propeller or wings made it impossible for the pilot to control the altitude of the aircraft.
The ten passengers included two Captains and an aviation cadet, as well as a Texan and four Tennessee residents. The dead included Blan R. Maxwell, the Speaker of the Tennessee State Senate.
See also
- American AirlinesAmerican AirlinesAmerican Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
- American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Ohio)American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Ohio)American Airlines Flight 63, nicknamed the Flagship Ohio, was a Douglas DC-3 routing Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati-Louisville-Nashville-Memphis that crashed on the next-to-last segment of the flight about west of Trammel, Kentucky on July 28, 1943...
- American Airlines accidents and incidents
- List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft