Investigation Summary
The accident occurred during a period of transition for the pilot, Second Lieutenant Philip Irvin Russell, who was a flight instructor at Barksdale Field. He had received permission to fly the A-26 to his hometown of South Portland as part of a training flight, which included an intermediate stop at Bradley Field in Connecticut. On the day of the accident, heavy fog had settled over the Portland area, leading airport officials to close the field to traffic at 16:35. Despite the closure, Russell attempted an approach at 16:41. Witnesses, including his own family who were waiting at the airport, saw the aircraft momentarily break through the fog at approximately 200 feet. The airport controller instructed the pilot to climb to 1,500 feet, but the aircraft failed to maintain altitude or clear the nearby residential area. The subsequent impact and fire devastated a trailer park housing shipyard workers and their families, leading to a high ground casualty count that exceeded the number of occupants on the aircraft.
Final Conclusions
The Army Air Forces 'Report of Aircraft Accident' cited three primary contributing factors. First, the pilot lacked sufficient instrument flight experience for the A-26 type. Second, an operations officer had improperly cleared the flight under Contact Flight Rules (CFR) when weather conditions necessitated Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). Third, the air traffic controller provided unauthorized landing instructions by suggesting a runway rather than directing the pilot to return to areas with CFR conditions.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Contact Flight Rules (CFR)
A precursor to modern Visual Flight Rules (VFR), requiring the pilot to maintain visual contact with the ground. The flight was improperly cleared under these rules despite low visibility.
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)
Procedures for flying when visual reference to the ground is not possible. The investigation found the pilot lacked sufficient training to operate the A-26 under these conditions.
Interesting Facts
- 01The accident is the deadliest aviation disaster in Maine's history.
- 02The crash occurred on the same day as Maine's second-deadliest crash, a B-17 accident on Deer Mountain.
- 03The trailer park housed workers from the New England Shipbuilding Corporation.
- 04The pilot's family was present at the airport and witnessed the aircraft briefly before the crash.
- 0517 people on the ground were killed and 20 others were injured.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial
A memorial was erected in 2009 in South Portland to honor the 19 victims of the crash, using granite from the same quarry as the Tomb of the Unknowns.