1936 — April 7, TWA Flight No. 1 flies into mountain ridge Fairchance, SW PA — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-17-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–12 Director of Air Commerce. Transcontinental and Western Air: Fairchance PA,4-7-1936.
–12 Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Challinor Dies…12th Victim of Crash.” 4-14-1936, 1.
–11 Morning Herald, Uniontown PA. “11 Bodies Removed From Liner’s Wreckage.” 4-8-1936
Narrative Information
Bureau of Air Commerce: “On April 7, 1936, at approximately 10:20 a.m., at a point about three miles southeast of Fairchance, Pennsylvania, an airplane of United States registry, owned and operated by Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc., and while being flown in scheduled interstate operation carrying passengers, mail and express, met with an accident resulting in fatal injuries to 12 of the 14 persons on board, injuries to the remaining two persons and the complete destruction of the aircraft….
“The aircraft, a Douglas, model DC-2…was being operated on April 7, 1936, by Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc., as the Sun Racer, Flight No. 1, Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California….
“The airplane left Newark Airport at 7:54 a.m. and arrived at Central Airport, Camden, N.J., at 8:27 a.m. It was cleared from Camden on time at 8:35 a.m., and was scheduled to land at Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Airport at 10:23 a.m.
“The mountains between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh were for the most part obscured by clouds which extended to a maximum altitude of about 15,000 feet, and there were rain, sleet and general icing conditions in this area. West of Buckstown, Pa., a southwesterly wind of a high velocity was reported blowing at 15,000 feet altitude and the effect of this wind was evident to a decreasing extent at lower altitude.
“While these weather conditions were not considered hazardous for this type of aircraft operation, they did indicate that on part of the trip the flight would have to be made in or above the clouds, necessitating instrument flying. Therefore, the pilot was authorized by his company to go on instruments at his discretion. Evidence shows that the plane entered the overcast when in the vicinity of Harrisburg, and that Pilot Ferguson continued on instruments to an undetermined point within approximately the last 20 miles of the flight.
“Radio reports from the plane and testimony of witnesses show that the course was not altered…and that after the plane crossed the south leg of the Harrisburg radio range, and entered the overcast, the pilot continued to follow what he thought was his original compass course but which developments show was a course deflected to the south of this compass course….
“At about the time Pilot Ferguson was reporting his estimated position as over Chestnut Ridge at 10 a.m., witnesses at Big Springs Summit, which is on Laurel Hill and is about 2 1/2 miles northwest of Bakersville, Pa., observed a large, gray, two-engined airplane flying through the lower edge of the clouds, headed west. Big Springs Summit is 24 miles west of the Buckstown radio range and 16 miles south of the direct Camden-Pittsburgh compass course.
“Then, at 10:09 a.m., Pilot Ferguson reported his estimated position as 10 miles east of Pittsburgh, but at 10:10 a.m. or one minute later, the airplane was heard and seen by witnesses in the vicinity of Connellsville, Pa., which is about 30 miles southeast of the Pittsburgh Airport. At approximately 10:20 a.m. the plane crashed at a point 12 miles east and 39 miles south of the Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Airport, the airline terminal….
“The last radio report from Flight 1 of record was at 10:09 a.m., and was to the airport control tower at Pittsburgh. The pilot gave his estimated position as 10 miles east of Pittsburgh his altitude as 3,000 feet, and on instruments. At this time Pilot Ferguson asked for positions of other airplanes and for clearance to land. The requested information and clearance to land were given, and in acknowledging its receipt, the pilot told the control tower, you are very weak. Nothing more was heard from the plane until about l:55 p.m., when the air hostess, Miss Granger, telephoned the Pittsburgh office of TWA that the plane had met with an accident at a point near Fairchance….
“It is…apparent from the evidence obtained near Connellsville, that the pilot had descended a considerable amount, which is confirmed by his radio reports, the last one of which placed his altitude (above sea level) as 3,000 feet, and that he may then have been trying to identify landmarks in this vicinity instead of flying solely by instruments.
“Testimony of witnesses throughout the remainder of the flight shows definitely that the airplane continued, in a general southerly direction, passed to the east of the Summit Hotel (on Chestnut Ridge near Uniontown, Pa.), to a point about two miles northwest of Elliotsville Pa., and headed westerly up a small valley in the general direction of Fairchance. Throughout this portion of the flight the airplane was flying just over the tree tops and the pilot was obviously trying to keep the ground in view while veering to avoid higher hills. A light freezing rain was falling at the time and low clouds and fog obscured the tops of the surrounding mountains.
“At the point where the airplane turned west up the small valley, its altitude was estimated by witnesses, as approximately 100 feet above the ground, and at that height it could only be seen intermittently. This valley is a ravine on the southeast side of Chestnut Ridge which curves toward the north and ascends as it approaches the summit. Apparently at the end of the ravine the pilot was suddenly confronted with the ridge directly ahead, the top of which evidently he could not see, due to fog and clouds. A check of this terrain relative to the altitude at which the airplane was seen to be flying just previously shows that, to clear the ridge, the plane would need to, climb 650 feet in approximately three-quarters of a mile. This climb, turning to the right with the ravine, took the airplane into the low-hanging clouds, thus further obscuring the pilot’s vision. At a point approximately on top of the ridge the airplane, still turning to the right, struck a series of trees and Came to a stop about 1200 feet beyond the first tree hit.
“The evidence indicates that there was no malfunctioning of the aircraft, engines or equipment. While general icing conditions were present, the plane was equipped with devices to remove ice formations from the wings, tail and propellers, and there is no evidence that ice affected its flying characteristics. Further, there was sufficient fuel aboard for more than two, hours flying at the time of the impact and there is no evidence that the pilot was attempting a landing….
“It is…apparent that from Harrisburg west, the pilots correction for cross-wind drift was in error because the actual course he flew was approximately 8 degrees to the south of the intended course and the one he believed he was following….
“It is the opinion of the Bureau of Air Commerce that the probable cause of this accident was poor judgment on the part of Pilot Ferguson for flying by visual ground observation methods after having descended through the clouds and overcast in mountainous terrain at a point unknown to him. Because of clouds and poor visibility this, required flying close to the ground whereas the safest method under such circumstances is to climb into or above the overcast to a safe altitude and determine the location of the plane by instruments and radio.” (Bureau of Air Commerce, DOC. Report, undated.)
Newspapers
April 8: “In a bleak April blizzard day, ceiling zero, lost apparently in the treacherous ridges of this section of the Allegheny mountain ridges, one of the most modern of the Transcontinental and Western Airline Douglas planes winged its way into the crest of Chestnut Ridge carrying death to 11 of its passengers and crew, sometime estimated at shortly around the noon hour Tuesday.
“Lost and apparently with no radio contacts, the pilots, 50 or more miles off their course, met the same fate which has so often planted tragedy on the poorly air-equipped, yet steep mountain crests of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Just a quarter of a mile from the historic Dulaney’s Cave, and with but a further altitude lift of 200 feet, the giant liner nose-dived its way into the heavily wooded growth of second timber and brush land and cracked to pieces.
“Clinging trees tore away the landing wheels, then hacked away at the side motors, twisting fuselage through the air as though it was a flying dish rag in the breezes and finally settled to the ground, apparently stove in two.
“An explosion followed the crash but there was little fire. Apparently the plane contained the most modern nonflammable material in use.
“Out of the rear of the wreckage clambered 23-year-old Nellie Granger, who six months ago in a competitive examination with scores of others won the right to act as hostess for the TWA. Located in the tail of the ship she had escaped unscathed and apparently unjarred. The tail of the plane standing fin upward was fully 100 feet distant from the front wings. Moans of the dying lent speed to her steps as she ran and crawled breathlessly up the mountainside, caring aught for the briars which tore her clothing to shreds and the limbs of the trees which smacked her bitingly in the face.
“Blindly, the lone unharmed survivor chanced or sensed the right direction. Less than an eighth of a mile away she stumbled on the lone mountain timber roads leading from the Summit hotel to the forks of West Virginia and the Haydentown roads. Again she turned in the right direction. Had she gone north it would have been seven miles of mud and slop to the Summit hotel. But veering to the south a mile distant she came upon the mountain cabin of George Rankin. Members of the family saw the woman stumble to the kitchen door and they let her in. ‘Where is there a telephone? Where is there a telephone?’ the girl queried. Again she was lucky, else the location of the plane would have been delayed by hours.
“A quarter of a mile further along the road is located the state fire tower under the charge of Ray Addis. The Rankin family dispatched young Harold Rankin, aged 18, to show Miss Granger to the location of a telephone. They themselves did not realize the disaster. An hour and a half probably elapsed before they reached the fire warden’s home. It was then the girl began to relay her news to the outside world.
“In the meantime WPA workers who are putting hard stone on the very road in question but who have laid but a few hundred feet had noticed the strange antics of the ship and had watched it nose-dive. They proceeded to communicate with Burgess Field where the call was received at 1:45.
“Hurrying back to the scene Miss Granger, accompanied by young Rankin once again entered the woods and felt their way to the dead and dying. In the clearing made by the crash a lone man was seated on a stump possibly 25 feet from the wreck. He had dragged himself from proximity to possible further danger and was holding on to the stump….
“While TWA officials rushed every available man to the wreck from McKeesport and Pittsburgh, state police and motor patrol were actually the first to arrive on the scene. They fought their way up the Haydentown road, whereas others struggled through mud and more over the back Summit road.
“Bodies of the victims were carefully removed from the plane and stretched in a row nearby. While they appeared scorched, none at casual glance were badly burned. There had been an explosion in the middle of the plane and the fire had died….
“TWA officials took charge of the scene immediately upon their arrival by plane from the Pittsburgh district. At once a leader assumed command with a .45 caliber Colt ordering the growing crowd, including the news photographers, back from the ground. ‘You can take pictures when the coroner comes and not before,’ he cried….
“As darkness settled over the mountain, the blinding blizzard which had apparently gripped the doomed ship and its pilot, Ferguson, again set down with biting force….
“Three West Penn trucks with an emergency lighting force were hurried to the scene as darkness fell. The sad work of removing the victims began with the arrival of Coroner S. A. Baltz….” (Morning Herald, Uniontown PA. “11 Bodies Removed From Liner’s Wreckage.” 4-8-1936, 1.)
April 14: “Uniontown, April 14. – Charles G. Challinor, Pittsburg and Cleveland businessman, died at 7:05 o’clock Monday night in Uniontown Hospital, the 12th victim of the TWA air liner tragedy on Mount Summit a week ago today. He was 33. Challinor, the only male survivor of 10 passengers and two of the crew of his sex aboard the ship (the only ones alive are two women, a passenger and the hostess), succumbed to gangrene and shock after he had submitted to two operations during which a portion of his left leg was amputated in an effort to save his life.
“At the time he was admitted to the hospital last Tuesday night nearly eight hours after the crash of the luxurious liner near Fairchance, Challinor’s condition was not believed serious. Gangrene developed, however, in his left leg. He had suffered fractures of both ankles and his hand. He had received five blood transfusions. His wife and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Challinor of Clarksburg, W. Va., were with him when the end came.
“Challinor was the hero of the plane crash. With both ankles fractured, the man, who was a veteran air traveler, having, according to reports, been up for more than 900 hours and who had survived two previous crashes, had succeeded in getting the two women passengers to safety. He had battered open the door of the cabin plane with first his hand and then his head. Then crawling about he had removed Mrs. Meyer Ellenstein and Miss Nellie Granger, the latter the hostess, who went for help.
Challinor then dived to safety, and was aided to a safe distance from the burning ship by Miss Granger. Mrs. Ellenstein was then aided to reach a resting place. After Miss Granger left in search of a telephone Challinor had heard Mrs. Ellenstein groaning and attempted to reach her side, crawling about through the dirt and underbrush, further aggravating his own injuries in his efforts to aid still further in relieving the suffering of others….
“It was approximately eight hours after the accident before Challinor was admitted to the hospital. After he had been started toward the hospital in an automobile driven by Robert Divens, local salesman, difficulty was encountered. The car became stuck in the mud and did not resume its journey to Uniontown until nearly two hours later, when it was pulled backward onto solid ground.
“It was believed that the exposure, and the crawling about, in the dirt had all combined to aggravate Challinor’s injured legs and contribute to the infection which later caused his death….” (Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Challinor Dies of Injuries; 12th Victim of Crash.” 4-14-1936, p. 1.)
Sources
Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Challinor Dies of Injuries; 12th Victim of Crash.” 4-14-1936, p.1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=32704344
Director of Air Commerce. Investigation of Aircraft Accident: Transcontinental and Western Air: Fairchance, Pennsylvania: 1936-04-07. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. Accessed 11-17-2024 at: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32977
Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA. “11 Bodies Removed From Liner’s Wreckage.” 4-8-1936, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=85190839