Eastern Airlines Flight 537
Encyclopedia
Eastern Air Lines
Flight 537, registration N88727, was a Douglas DC-4
aircraft en route from Boston
, Massachusetts
to Washington, D.C.
via intermediate points on November 1, 1949. NX-26927 was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning
being test-flown for acceptance by the Government of Bolivia by Erick Rios Bridoux of the Bolivian Air Force
. The two aircraft collided in mid-air
at an altitude of 300 feet about half a mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3 at Washington National Airport
, killing all 55 aboard the DC-4 and seriously injuring the pilot of the P-38.(if links above fail to load report, visit http://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net and select "Historical Aircraft Accident Reports (1934-1965)", then retry report links) At the time it was the deadliest airliner incident in United States history.
The tower controllers on duty that day at National testified that the P-38 had taken off on Runway 3, turned left north of The Pentagon
, circled over Arlington, then returned, requesting permission to land due to engine trouble. The controller cleared the aircraft to join the left traffic pattern
, but instead it flew south of the airport and entered a long straight-in approach at the same time Flight 537 was turning onto a shorter final. The controller then called Flight 537 ordering it to turn left; it began the turn, but by then the P-38, being considerably faster than a DC-4 on final, overtook the aircraft 1/2 mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3.
The DC-4 was cut in half by the left propeller of the P-38 just forward of the trailing edge of the wing. The aft portion of the DC-4 fell to the ground on the west bank of the Potomac River
; other pieces were located in Alexandria, Virginia
at the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Potomac Yard
and on a highway passing near the Yard. The fore portion of the aircraft fell into the river, as did the P-38.
An Air Force sergeant hauled the weakly treading Bridoux out of the Potomac, just as the wounded pilot lost consciousness. At Alexandria Hospital doctors found he had a broken back, crushed ribs and serious contusions.
Bridoux contradicted much of the tower controllers' testimony when he spoke to Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigators. He claimed he had taken off from Runway 36, had been in constant contact with the tower, and had been explicitly cleared to land on Runway 3 under the call sign "Bolivian 927". However, the testimony of both the tower personnel and a military controller listening in on the frequency from his position at Bolling Air Force Base
(as well as other discrepancies in the P-38 pilot's testimony) led the CAB to discount Bridoux's version of the facts. As Bridoux spoke and understood English well, it was thought that language difficulties played no part in the accident.
The CAB determined the primary probable causes of the accident to be the P-38 pilot's decision to land without proper clearance and his failure to exercise normal vigilance in looking out for conflicting traffic. The CAB also found that the tower controllers failed to exercise due vigilance in not notifying the pilots of Flight 537 earlier as to the critical traffic situation developing. However, the report also states that even if Flight 537 had received earlier advice with respect to the P-38's location, it might still have been too late to avoid the accident, as Bridoux's actions left Flight 537 only a few seconds in which to turn.
Among the dead on Flight 537 were Congressman George J. Bates
, New Yorker
cartoonist Helen E. Hokinson, and former Congressman Michael J. Kennedy
.
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
Flight 537, registration N88727, was a Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
aircraft en route from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
via intermediate points on November 1, 1949. NX-26927 was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
being test-flown for acceptance by the Government of Bolivia by Erick Rios Bridoux of the Bolivian Air Force
Bolivian Air Force
The Bolivian Air Force is part of the Military of Bolivia.-History:By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft , and about 300 staff; the officers were...
. The two aircraft 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...
at an altitude of 300 feet about half a mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3 at Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
, killing all 55 aboard the DC-4 and seriously injuring the pilot of the P-38.(if links above fail to load report, visit http://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net and select "Historical Aircraft Accident Reports (1934-1965)", then retry report links) At the time it was the deadliest airliner incident in United States history.
The tower controllers on duty that day at National testified that the P-38 had taken off on Runway 3, turned left north of The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, circled over Arlington, then returned, requesting permission to land due to engine trouble. The controller cleared the aircraft to join the left traffic pattern
Airfield traffic pattern
An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing, while maintaining visual contact with the airfield....
, but instead it flew south of the airport and entered a long straight-in approach at the same time Flight 537 was turning onto a shorter final. The controller then called Flight 537 ordering it to turn left; it began the turn, but by then the P-38, being considerably faster than a DC-4 on final, overtook the aircraft 1/2 mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3.
The DC-4 was cut in half by the left propeller of the P-38 just forward of the trailing edge of the wing. The aft portion of the DC-4 fell to the ground on the west bank of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
; other pieces were located in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
at the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard was one of the busiest rail yards on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Today, it refers to the neighborhood encompassing the same, which straddles southeastern Arlington County and northern Alexandria, Virginia, bounded by U.S. Route 1, the George Washington Memorial Parkway,...
and on a highway passing near the Yard. The fore portion of the aircraft fell into the river, as did the P-38.
An Air Force sergeant hauled the weakly treading Bridoux out of the Potomac, just as the wounded pilot lost consciousness. At Alexandria Hospital doctors found he had a broken back, crushed ribs and serious contusions.
Bridoux contradicted much of the tower controllers' testimony when he spoke to Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigators. He claimed he had taken off from Runway 36, had been in constant contact with the tower, and had been explicitly cleared to land on Runway 3 under the call sign "Bolivian 927". However, the testimony of both the tower personnel and a military controller listening in on the frequency from his position at Bolling Air Force Base
Bolling Air Force Base
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is a military installation, located in Southeast Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission...
(as well as other discrepancies in the P-38 pilot's testimony) led the CAB to discount Bridoux's version of the facts. As Bridoux spoke and understood English well, it was thought that language difficulties played no part in the accident.
The CAB determined the primary probable causes of the accident to be the P-38 pilot's decision to land without proper clearance and his failure to exercise normal vigilance in looking out for conflicting traffic. The CAB also found that the tower controllers failed to exercise due vigilance in not notifying the pilots of Flight 537 earlier as to the critical traffic situation developing. However, the report also states that even if Flight 537 had received earlier advice with respect to the P-38's location, it might still have been too late to avoid the accident, as Bridoux's actions left Flight 537 only a few seconds in which to turn.
Among the dead on Flight 537 were Congressman George J. Bates
George J. Bates
George Joseph Bates was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Massachusetts. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Bates was elected Mayor of Salem in 1924 at the age of 33. He served as mayor until 1937, at which time he was sworn in as a Republican member of the House...
, New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
cartoonist Helen E. Hokinson, and former Congressman Michael J. Kennedy
Michael J. Kennedy
Michael Joseph Kennedy was an American businessman and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of New York from 1939 to 1943....
.
External links
- Haine, Edgar (2000), Disaster in the Air, p. 233-240. Retrieved August 25, 2009 using Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
- Erick Rios Bridoux v. Eastern Air Lines, United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1954
- The Deseret News, November 1 1949, p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2009 - includes photographs of crash wreckage
- The Deseret News, November 1 1949, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2009 - names of those on board the DC-4
- Reaction of Eleanor Roosevelt to the disaster, November 5, 1949. Retrieved August 25, 2009