American Airlines Flight 910
Encyclopedia
American Airlines
Flight 910, a four-engine Douglas DC-6
propliner
, collided in mid-air
with a single engine Temco Swift
on final approach to Dallas Love Field on June 28, 1952, over Dallas, Texas
. The DC-6 was carrying 55 passengers and 5 crew members from San Francisco, California
. The DC-6 landed with no injuries to any of its 60 occupants, while both occupants of the two-person Swift died when their aircraft impacted the ground.
It was occupied by pilot Paul Brower, who owned the aircraft, and passenger Don Walker, both of Denton, Texas
. Brower, who was 19 years old, had logged a total of 250 flight hours, but had been granted his private pilot’s license only 3 days earlier. Both Brower and Walker were employees of Central Airlines
at Love Field, and Brower had been commuting to work in his airplane almost daily for the past few months.
American Airlines
Flight 910, a four-engine DC-6 propliner
, departed San Francisco for Dallas at 23:05 on June 27, and made three scheduled stops on its way to Dallas-Love Field. On board was a flight crew of three, Captain G.H. Woolweaver, First Officer James R. Poe, Flight Engineer John Barrett, and a cabin crew of two flight attendants, Arlene Siebert and Anita Schmidt. 55 passengers were on board for the final segment of the flight from El Paso
to Dallas.
At 06:56 of the following morning, the Swift aircraft departed Denton, Texas
on a VFR
flight for Dallas-Love Field, and as it neared its destination the pilot contacted Love tower for landing instructions, requesting a "straight in" approach.
Flight 910 had canceled its IFR
clearance earlier, flying VFR during its final flight segment, and received landing clearance for Runway 13. The First Officer, seated on the right, was flying the aircraft, and was guiding it down the ILS
glidepath and localizer
, while maintaining visual contact with the ground. The crew could hear the tower give instructions to a light aircraft nearby.
At an altitude of 400 feet above ground level, First Officer Poe suddenly spotted the Swift under the fuselage of the DC-6 but was unable to take evasive action, and the two aircraft collided. The airliner's flight crew continued the approach and landed without incident; the DC-6 was almost completely unscathed except for some minor damage to a fuselage-mounted radio antenna and the No. 4 propeller. Capt. Woolweaver never clearly saw the other airplane and was unsure what had happened until the airliner had landed and he was able to talk to people who had witnessed the collision.
Witnesses aboard the DC-6 saw the Swift fly into the No. 4 propeller, the outermost propeller on the right wing. The collision severed most of the left wing of the Swift, threw the small plane over the fuselage
of the DC-6, thus damaging the airliner's antenna, and sent the craft spiraling into a northwest Dallas street. A nearby resident, Leo Zeock, heard the crash from inside his home and ran to render aid, but he found Brower and Walker already dead. The wreck subsequently caught fire and had to be extinguished by Dallas firefighters; however, the blaze was attributed to leaking avgas
ignited by a cigarette
discarded by a spectator, not to the crash itself.
The accident was investigated by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which issued its final report on March 3, 1953.
The CAB primarily attributed the crash to the failure of the Swift's pilot to exercise proper caution during his landing approach. The Swift's pilot radioed the Love tower to request a straight-in approach, but he did so much closer to the airport than recommended by flight regulations, he did not state his position, heading, or speed, and he failed to establish two-way communication to obtain a landing clearance. If a pilot could not establish clear contact with the tower, visual flight rules
stated that he should only continue the approach with extreme caution under the assumption that conflicting air traffic was in the area. Instead, he continued the straight-in approach as if he had been properly cleared to land. Due to the lack of communication with the Swift, controllers were unaware of the proximity of the two aircraft until the Swift was spotted from the tower, leaving inadequate time to warn the airliner's crew of the situation.
The Swift's initial position was below, behind, and to the right of the DC-6, so the Swift's pilot should have easily been able to see the large DC-6 overhead and to his left. From the viewpoint of the DC-6 flight crew, the Swift may have been in a blind spot created by the DC-6 nose structure; if not, the small silver-grey plane would be hard to see silhouetted against the ground.
A contributing factor was "errors in judgment" on the part of a Love Field controller who initially instructed the Swift's pilot to turn into the path of the DC-6 upon spotting the second aircraft. The controller, who was relying on his vision to sequence aircraft for landing, initially misidentified the Swift as a larger Beechcraft Bonanza
. This caused an error in depth perception
, as he concluded that there was a larger aircraft behind the DC-6 rather than a smaller aircraft on a collision course. He rapidly realized his error and retracted his instruction, telling the Swift's pilot to turn away, but the small plane did not initiate a turn until seconds before the collision.
Investigators discovered corroded
wiring between the Swift's radio and antenna, which could explain the poor communication with the pilot. However, the radio was reportedly operating properly the day before the crash.
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...
Flight 910, a four-engine Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
propliner
Propliner
A propliner is a large, propeller-driven airliner. Typically, the term is used for piston-powered airliners that flew before the beginning of the jet age, not for modern turbine-powered propeller airliners...
, collided in mid-air
Mid-air collision
A mid-air collision is an aviation accident in which two or more aircraft come into contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and any subsequent impact on the ground or sea, very severe damage or the total destruction of at least one of the aircraft involved usually...
with a single engine Temco Swift
Globe Swift
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Davisson, Budd. "Swiftly, Swiftly: An Appreciation of one of General Aviation's Classic Aircraft." Air Progress, Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1983....
on final approach to Dallas Love Field on June 28, 1952, over Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The DC-6 was carrying 55 passengers and 5 crew members from San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The DC-6 landed with no injuries to any of its 60 occupants, while both occupants of the two-person Swift died when their aircraft impacted the ground.
History
The two seat, single engine Temco Swift aircraft was a Model GC 1B, serial number 3558, manufactured on May 24, 1948.It was occupied by pilot Paul Brower, who owned the aircraft, and passenger Don Walker, both of Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
. Brower, who was 19 years old, had logged a total of 250 flight hours, but had been granted his private pilot’s license only 3 days earlier. Both Brower and Walker were employees of Central Airlines
Central Airlines
Central Airlines was a regional airline providing service in Texas and Oklahoma from 1949 to 1967. Central was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to operate charter and fixed base services in Oklahoma. Due to financing difficulties, it did not begin scheduled air service until September 15, 1949, just...
at Love Field, and Brower had been commuting to work in his airplane almost daily for the past few months.
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...
Flight 910, a four-engine DC-6 propliner
Propliner
A propliner is a large, propeller-driven airliner. Typically, the term is used for piston-powered airliners that flew before the beginning of the jet age, not for modern turbine-powered propeller airliners...
, departed San Francisco for Dallas at 23:05 on June 27, and made three scheduled stops on its way to Dallas-Love Field. On board was a flight crew of three, Captain G.H. Woolweaver, First Officer James R. Poe, Flight Engineer John Barrett, and a cabin crew of two flight attendants, Arlene Siebert and Anita Schmidt. 55 passengers were on board for the final segment of the flight from El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
to Dallas.
At 06:56 of the following morning, the Swift aircraft departed Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
on a VFR
Visual flight rules
Visual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
flight for Dallas-Love Field, and as it neared its destination the pilot contacted Love tower for landing instructions, requesting a "straight in" approach.
Flight 910 had canceled its IFR
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
clearance earlier, flying VFR during its final flight segment, and received landing clearance for Runway 13. The First Officer, seated on the right, was flying the aircraft, and was guiding it down the ILS
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
glidepath and localizer
Localizer
In aviation, a localizer is one of the components of an Instrument Landing System , and it provides runway centerline guidance to aircraft. In some cases, a course projected by localizer is at an angle to the runway . It is then called a Localizer Type Directional Aid...
, while maintaining visual contact with the ground. The crew could hear the tower give instructions to a light aircraft nearby.
Collision
Witnesses aboard the DC-6 saw the Swift fly into the No. 4 propeller, the outermost propeller on the right wing. The collision severed most of the left wing of the Swift, threw the small plane over the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
of the DC-6, thus damaging the airliner's antenna, and sent the craft spiraling into a northwest Dallas street. A nearby resident, Leo Zeock, heard the crash from inside his home and ran to render aid, but he found Brower and Walker already dead. The wreck subsequently caught fire and had to be extinguished by Dallas firefighters; however, the blaze was attributed to leaking avgas
Avgas
Avgas is an aviation fuel used to power piston-engine aircraft. Avgas is distinguished from mogas , which is the everyday gasoline used in cars and some non-commercial light aircraft...
ignited by a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
discarded by a spectator, not to the crash itself.
Investigation
The CAB primarily attributed the crash to the failure of the Swift's pilot to exercise proper caution during his landing approach. The Swift's pilot radioed the Love tower to request a straight-in approach, but he did so much closer to the airport than recommended by flight regulations, he did not state his position, heading, or speed, and he failed to establish two-way communication to obtain a landing clearance. If a pilot could not establish clear contact with the tower, visual flight rules
Visual flight rules
Visual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
stated that he should only continue the approach with extreme caution under the assumption that conflicting air traffic was in the area. Instead, he continued the straight-in approach as if he had been properly cleared to land. Due to the lack of communication with the Swift, controllers were unaware of the proximity of the two aircraft until the Swift was spotted from the tower, leaving inadequate time to warn the airliner's crew of the situation.
The Swift's initial position was below, behind, and to the right of the DC-6, so the Swift's pilot should have easily been able to see the large DC-6 overhead and to his left. From the viewpoint of the DC-6 flight crew, the Swift may have been in a blind spot created by the DC-6 nose structure; if not, the small silver-grey plane would be hard to see silhouetted against the ground.
A contributing factor was "errors in judgment" on the part of a Love Field controller who initially instructed the Swift's pilot to turn into the path of the DC-6 upon spotting the second aircraft. The controller, who was relying on his vision to sequence aircraft for landing, initially misidentified the Swift as a larger Beechcraft Bonanza
Beechcraft Bonanza
The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history...
. This caused an error in depth perception
Depth perception
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the ability to move accurately, or to respond consistently, based on the distances of objects in an environment....
, as he concluded that there was a larger aircraft behind the DC-6 rather than a smaller aircraft on a collision course. He rapidly realized his error and retracted his instruction, telling the Swift's pilot to turn away, but the small plane did not initiate a turn until seconds before the collision.
Investigators discovered corroded
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
wiring between the Swift's radio and antenna, which could explain the poor communication with the pilot. However, the radio was reportedly operating properly the day before the crash.