Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
Encyclopedia
On October 30, 1959, Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3
, crashed on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Crozet, Virginia
, killing the crew of three and all but one of its twenty-four passengers. The sole survivor, Ernest P. "Phil" Bradley, was seriously injured and lay on the ground near the wreckage, still strapped in his seat. The subsequent investigation determined the cause of the accident to be:
Registration number: N55V
Serial number: 20447
History: Ex Meteor Air Transport N53593. Sold to Piedmont Airlines 12-1956.
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...
, crashed on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Crozet, Virginia
Crozet, Virginia
Crozet is a census-designated place in Albemarle County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is situated along the I-64 corridor approximately west of Charlottesville and east of Staunton. Originally called "Wayland's Crossing", it was renamed in 1870 in honor of Colonel Claudius Crozet, the...
, killing the crew of three and all but one of its twenty-four passengers. The sole survivor, Ernest P. "Phil" Bradley, was seriously injured and lay on the ground near the wreckage, still strapped in his seat. The subsequent investigation determined the cause of the accident to be:
"A navigational omission which resulted in a lateral course error that was not detected and corrected through precision instrument flying procedures. A contributing factor to the accident may have been pre-occupation of the captain resulting from mental stress."
Plane
Name: Buckeye PacemakerRegistration number: N55V
Serial number: 20447
History: Ex Meteor Air Transport N53593. Sold to Piedmont Airlines 12-1956.