Investigation Summary
The flight was a scheduled service from New York to Brownsville, Texas, with a stop in Atlanta. At 11:38 PM, the crew acknowledged the Atlanta altimeter setting of 28.94 inches of mercury provided by the company operator. During the descent, the crew reported being over the Atlanta range station at 1,800 feet. However, the aircraft was actually much lower. The DC-3 first clipped three pine trees while heading north, continued in level flight for 1,500 feet across a small valley, and then struck a poplar tree before crashing into a thick grove. Among the survivors was Eastern Air Lines President Eddie Rickenbacker, who suffered life-threatening injuries but eventually recovered. The investigation highlighted that the error in the altimeter setting (0.98 inches) almost exactly matched the difference between the aircraft's intended and actual altitude at the time of impact.
Final Conclusions
The Civil Aeronautics Board determined the probable cause was the failure of the captain to exercise the proper degree of care by not checking his altimeters to determine whether both were correctly set and properly functioning before commencing the landing approach. A contributing factor was the lack of a uniform cockpit procedure at Eastern Air Lines requiring both the captain and pilot to perform a complete cross-check of instruments during landing operations.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Crew Experience
Captain
James A. Perry (Fatal)
Pilot
Luther E. Thomas (Fatal)
Systems & Failure Modes
Sensitive Altimeter
A pressure-based instrument that requires manual setting of the local barometric pressure to display accurate altitude above sea level.
Atlanta Range Station
A radio navigation facility used by the crew to fix their position during the instrument approach to Candler Field.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Douglas DC-3 known as a 'Mexico City Silver Sleeper'.
- 02The approach altimeter was found set to 29.92 inches of mercury, while the actual local pressure was 28.94.
- 03Eastern Air Lines President Eddie Rickenbacker was one of the eight survivors.
- 04Maryland Congressman William D. Byron was among the eight fatalities in the crash.
- 05The crash site was located near Morrow, Georgia, approximately five miles from the Atlanta range station.
- 06The lowest tree struck was at an elevation of 915 feet, significantly below the reported altitude of 1,800 feet.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Standardized Cockpit Procedures
The CAB recommended the establishment of uniform cockpit procedures requiring both pilots to cross-check controls and instrument settings during landing operations.