Investigation Summary
Flight 371 was a multi-leg flight from Philadelphia to Cleveland. After a stop in Harrisburg, the flight proceeded toward Williamsport under instrument flight rules (IFR) due to low ceilings and snow. Upon reaching Williamsport, the crew was cleared for an approach but arrived over the field too high to land. The captain initiated a right-hand circling approach to runway 27. During this maneuver, the aircraft was observed to roll out of the right turn and into a left turn, heading south (away from the airport) and toward rising terrain. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigation focused on the fluxgate compass system. The caging switch for this compass was located on the back of the cockpit pedestal, where it was vulnerable to accidental activation by the foot of the crew member in the jump seat. If caged during a turn, the Master Direction Indicator (MDI) would provide an erroneous heading. The investigation concluded that the captain likely relied on this faulty instrument, leading him to believe he was on a heading of 270 degrees when the aircraft was actually on a heading of approximately 190 degrees. By the time the discrepancy was noticed and the compass re-caged, the aircraft was too close to Bald Eagle Mountain to avoid impact.
Final Conclusions
The Civil Aeronautics Board released its final report on November 8, 1960. The Board determined the probable cause was the captain's failure to execute a timely abandoned approach. A likely contributing factor was the accidental caging of the fluxgate compass, which resulted in an erroneous heading indication that led the crew into terrain while flying in instrument conditions.
Video Analysis
Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 crash site — A look at the crash site of Flight 371 on Bald Eagle Mountain, where 25 of the 26 people on board perished in 1959.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Thomas Ronald Goldsmith
First Officer
George Matthew Bowers
Pilot (Jump Seat)
Donald Winston Tygert
Systems & Failure Modes
Fluxgate Compass
A directional system that uses a Master Direction Indicator (MDI). If the caging switch is activated during a maneuver, the compass can lock onto an incorrect heading.
Caging Switch
A switch located on the rear of the cockpit pedestal used to reset the compass; investigators found it was positioned where a jump seat occupant's foot could accidentally trigger it.
Interesting Facts
- 01The sole survivor was Louis Matarazzo, a sportswear company owner who managed to jump from the plane before the final impact.
- 02The crash site is located on a steep slope of Bald Eagle Mountain at an elevation of 1,150 feet MSL.
- 03The aircraft was a Martin 2-0-2 manufactured in 1947.
- 04Rescue efforts required a U.S. Air Force helicopter to lower a doctor and a priest into the site due to the 30 to 67-degree terrain grade.
- 05The crash site was designated an official archaeological site by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2014.
Safety Actions & Advisories
FAA Compass Guard Requirement
From 1961 onward, the FAA required all commercial aircraft to install suitable guards on fluxgate compass caging switches located in positions where they could be inadvertently actuated.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the wikipedia geotag.