1949 — Nov 1, Eastern Air 537 & Bolivian P-38 jet collide south of National Airport, VA– 55
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard 9-4-2023 for upload to http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 55 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, Eastern Air Lines Flight 537
— 55 Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 rev.
— 55 CAB. Air. Eastern Air and P-38 Air Collision – Near Wash. National AP, Nov 1, 1949.
–51 passengers — 4 flight crew
— 55 Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, p. 233.
— 55 Sturkey, Marion F. Mid-Air: Accident Reports and Voice Transcripts… 2008, pp. 45-50.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949:
“At 11:37 A Bolivian Air Force Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter[1] (NX26927) took off from runway 3 at Washington-National Airport, DC (DCA) [then and now located in Arlington, VA, with the Potomac River being boundary with DC]. The pilot was carrying out an acceptance test flight.[2] Because of erratic operation of the right hand engine, the pilot decided to land as soon as possible. When abeam runway 36 the pilot transmitted, “Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38. I got engine trouble request landing instructions.” Waiting for instructions he circled the field. When he was between Bolling Field and the National Airport and at about 3,500 feet altitude, the tower asked, “Bolivian P-38, you were asking landing instructions?” The Bolivian pilot answered, “Yes, I have engine trouble. I am in a hurry,” and that the tower at that time responded, “Bolivian P-38 cleared to land number two on runway 3.”
“Number one on the approach was Eastern Air Lines flight 537, a Douglas C-54. Because the P-38 was descending above and behind the C-54, it was then told to enter the left traffic pattern and to land behind the C-54. This message was never confirmed, nor complied with. The tower then switched to the Eastern aircraft and told it to turn left. When turning left, half a mile short of the runway at an altitude of 300 feet, both aircraft collided and crashed. The pilot of the P-38 survived with serious injuries.”[3] (Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, Eastern Air Lines Flight 537.) Took record as the worst aviation disaster in the U.S. at the time. (ASN, Eastern…Flight 537)
Baugher: “Douglas C-54B-10-DO Skymaster….17165 (c/n 18365/DO139) to US Navy as R5D-2 BuNo ???? 09/46 to Eastern Airlines, Inc. as N88727, side no 716. November 01, 1949 on a flight from Boston-Logan, MA to Washington-National, DC as Flight 537 while on final approach to runway 03 was in a midair collision with a Bolivian Air Force P-38L-5-LO, (ex 44-26927 c/n 422-7931) with the registration of NX26927. From the C-54B, 4 crew, 51 PAX fatal. From the P-38, the Bolivian test pilot survived, both aircraft were destroyed. It was (at the time) the worst plane crash in the history of civil aviation. The P-38 pilot was accused of causing the accident, later tried and cleared of the charges, which are now believed to have been an ATC [Air Traffic Control] error.” (Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 rev.)
Civil Aeronautics Board, Accident Investigation Report:
“The Accident
“Eastern Air Lines’ Flight 537, a DC-4, N-88727, and a P-38 aircraft bearing identification NX-26927 collided at approximately 11:46, 1 November 1, 1949, while both planes were on final approach for landing at the Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C. All of the 51 passengers, including two babies in arms, and the flight crew of four in the DC-4 were killed, the pilot of the P-38 was seriously injured. Both aircraft were completely destroyed.
“History of the Flights
“On November 1, 1949, Easter’s Flight 537 was flying from Boston via intermediate points to Washington. Over Beltsville, 15 miles northeast of the Washington National airport, it contacted the Washington Control Tower on 119 1 megacycles voice communications and was cleared by the tower to enter a left traffic pattern for landing on Runway 3. One minute before, at 11:37, the P-38 flown by Erick Rios Bridoux, a Bolivian national, had taken off from Runway 3 at Washington National Airport.
“Rios was test flying the P-38 for acceptance by the Bolivian Government. Previously, he had notified the tower through Paul M. Aubin, that he intended to make the flight and that his communications with the tower would be accomplished over VHF radio, Channel B on 126 18 megacycles. Rios also stated that he requested Aubin to notify the tower to hive him a light if radio contact could not be established. This message was not transmitted to the tower and Aubin denied hearing Rios make this last request. Throughout the entire ground operation of the P-38, including clearance for take-off, no difficulty was experienced by either the tower or Rios in communication. Departure of the P-38 was noted by the tower to be at 11:37, and from that time until after the accident, visibility in the vicinity of the airport remained at 15 miles, ceiling was 6,500 feet with scattered clouds at 3,500, and surface wind was from the northeast 20 to 25 miles per hour.
“Testimony of control tower personnel and that of the pilot of the P-38 were in conflict. Rios stated that he had taken off not from Runway 3, but from Runway 36, turning left at an altitude of about 300 feet. His climb was made, he said, to the north of the Pentagon [Arlington, VA], and because of the erratic operation of the right engine, he decided to land as soon as possible. Continuing to climb to about 2,500 feet or more, he made a second left turn so as to fly south, parallel to Runway 36, and when abeam of the control tower, he transmitted. ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38. I got engine trouble – request landing instructions.’ His testimony continues to the effect that because no answer was received, he turned left again to circle the field where he could see light signals from the tower. He stated that he received none, but that when he was between Bolling Field and the National Airport and at about 3,500 feet altitude, the tower asked, ‘Bolivian P-38, you were asking landing instructions?’ Rios stated that he answered, ‘Yes, I have engine trouble, I am in a hurry,’ and that the tower at that time responded, Bolivian P-38 cleared to land number two on Runway 3.’ Rios stated that the tower did not inform him that the aircraft ahead of him was an Eastern DC-4. Rios said that he continued to turn left, and at a reduced speed of 150 miles per hour, started a descent of 500 to 600 feet per minute, completing a second 360-degree turn around the airport until reaching an altitude of approximately 2,400 feet.
“Rios said that a downwind leg was flown at about 1,500 feet, and when about five miles south of the field, he turned left 90 degrees, flying east on a short base leg at an altitude of about 1,200 feet. During his downwind leg, he observed a C-60 or C-45 on approach to Runway 3 or 36, and while on his base leg, he saw it complete its landing and turn off the runway to the left. Rios made a left turn from the base leg to an approach course of 20 degrees for landing on Runway 3. As soon as the turn had been completed, Rios transmitted, ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38 on approach.’ The tower responded, said Rios, ‘Bolivian P-38 cleared to land on Runway 3. Rios stated that his approach was made a little higher than normal, for safety reasons, and that one minute after leaving the base leg, he extended the flaps, the landing gear having been put down previously when he was west of the field. Rios heard the tower say, ‘Clear to the left, clear to the left,’ but he stated that he did not know for whom it was intended because the tower did not use any call sign. Almost immediately afterwards, he felt the shock of the collision with the DC-4.
“According to control tower personnel, the P-38 took off from Runway 3, turned left, and proceeded in a climb 10 miles west of the field. Then a second left turn was made, and the aircraft, still climbing, continued in a southerly direction. The P-38 was next observed from the control tower circling left, south of Alexandria at an estimated altitude between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. The tower operators stated that while the P-38 was circling south of Alexandria, they received ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian 927 requesting landing instruction.’ After the controller had asked if Bolivian 927 had requested landing instructions, and the pilot had replied affirmatively, the controller instructed the P-38 to enter a left traffic pattern for Runway 3 and to report when west of the tower on downwind leg. When the instruction was not acknowledged by Rios, it was repeated. Prior to these instructions, the tower had cleared the Eastern flight to land number one on Runway 3.
“Shortly after the Eastern DC-4 was observed 1½ miles west to southwest from the end of Runway 4, making a continuous left turn from the downwind leg to final approach, tower personnel observed the P-38 on a long high final approach. The controller thereupon requested Rios to make a 360-degree turn to his left, saying that he was number two to land following an Eastern DC-4 turning on its final approach below. Since there was neither acknowledgment nor compliance with this second instruction, another transmission was made to the P-38, which was identified as Bolivian 927, and Rios was then told ‘Turn left, turn left,’ and was again told that the DC-4 was turning on final approach below. Again there was no response or compliance by the P-38, whereupon the tower then instructed the Eastern DC-4 to turn left. The DC-4 promptly acted in response to this instruction, but before 5 degrees of turn were made, the two aircraft collided at an approximate altitude of 300 feet about ½ mile southwest of Runway 3.
“In addition to the foregoing, there were two additional sources of information as to the communications between the tower and the two planes involved in the collision.
“National Airlines’ Flight 53, a DC-4 flying the same route as the Eastern flight, received when over Beltsville at approximately 11:41 a clearance from the Washington National Control Tower to enter the traffic pattern. The copilot of this flight stated that immediately before, he had overheard the Washington tower give the Eastern flight a clearance to enter the traffic pattern. At About 11:44, three minutes after the National plane had received its clearance to enter the traffic pattern (Eastern’s DC-4 was at this time north of the airport in the traffic pattern on its downwind leg), the National copilot heard the tower tell the Eastern crew that there was a P-38 in traffic. The National copilot further stated that about two minutes after this transmission to the Eastern flight, he overheard the tower toll the Eastern flight in a rather alarmed voice, ‘Look out for the P-38.’ (Eastern at this time had just completed its turn onto final.) He did not recall hearing a request for landing instruction or the tower giving landing instructions to the Eastern crew. The captain in the National DC-4 had no recollection of these transmissions described by the copilot.
“Sgt. William S. Buckwalter, who was serving as a controller in the Bolling Field tower, which had a speaker tuned to Channel B, testified that he heard an alarmed voice saying, ‘Bolivian, Bolivian, Bolivian,’ and looked up just in time to see the crash. He also remembered having previously heard routine landing instructions transmitted to the P-38, but did not recall hearing any acknowledgments of such instructions.
“Reconstruction of Events….
The evidence shows that the traffic around the Washington National Airport was light during the critical period, 11:37 to 11:46, and the only aircraft other than the P-38 and Eastern’s Flight 537 which could have constituted landing traffic was a United States Air Force B-25 which made a practice instrument approach to Runway 36. This aircraft, however, according to the landing records, passed over the field without landing at 11:43, about three minutes before the accident….
“As the Eastern DC-4 rolled out of its left turn onto final approach, approximately ¾ mile from the end of Runway 3, and as the P-38 continued to descend above and behind the DC-4, the tower transmitted to Rios either, “Turn left, turn left,’ or ‘Clear to the left, clear to the left.’….
“…the two aircraft collided at a point in line with and ½ mile from the approach end of Runway 3 at an altitude of 300 feet….
“Analysis
“Conceivably, a good part of the tower’s instructions to the P-38 may not have been received. If Rios had been calling the tower at the same time the tower was attempting to have him instructions, neither the tower nor Rios would have received the intended messages, since the transmission and reception on any one particular radio frequency cannot be effected simultaneously. However that may be, a landing approach should not have been initiated until clearance to land was received. Although Rios stated that he had been given a clearance to land, the preponderance of testimony indicates he was given clearance to enter traffic pattern only. The first clearance to Rios was to enter a left traffic pattern and the later clearance, not given until after a landing approach was started, was to land number two behind an Eastern DC-4. He was never given a clearance to land number one….
“Since Rios was making a long, high final approach, he should have maneuvered the P-38 so that he could make sure that there were no aircraft in front of him….
“We impute poor judgment to the tower in its adherence to the single course of guiding and corrective action which it selected even though normally it had every right to expect such action to be effective. Full alertness and dispatch on the part of personnel trained to anticipate and cope with critical traffic situations called for an earlier effort to notify Eastern’s pilot of the position and course of the P-38 in an additional effort to avoid the collision….
“Findings:
….
“4. Other than the erratic engine speed and manifold pressure of the right engine of the P-38, there was no mechanical trouble experienced in its operation.
“5. Visibility in the vicinity of the Washington National Airport at the time of the accident was 15 miles, ceiling was 6,500 feet, and surface wind was from the northeast at 20 to 25 miles per hour.
“6. Approximately two minutes before the collision, Eastern Air Lines’ DC-4 was on downwind leg, at which time it was cleared to land number one on Runway 3.
“7. The P-38 was 2 ½ to 3 miles south of the end of Runway 3 on a high straight-in approach to that runway when the tower observed the Eastern flight in a continuous turn from the downwind leg to the final approach about 1½ miles west to southwest of the approach end of Runway 3.
“8. The pilot of the P-38 attempted to land the airplane without obtaining the required clearance from the tower, and without maintaining a proper lookout for other aircraft.
“9. The P-38 and the Eastern DC-4 collided at a point in line with and ½ mile from the approach end of Runway 3 at an altitude of 300 feet.
“10. The tower did not act with the requisite alertness and promptness in communication to Eastern the position of the P-38 in the critical traffic situation which confronted it, but this cannot be said to have contributed to the cause of the accident.”
“Probable Cause
“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the execution of a straight-in final approach by the P-38 pilot without obtaining proper clearance to land and without exercising necessary vigilance.” (CAB. Air. Eastern Air and P-38 Air Collision – Near Wash. National AP, Nov 1, 1949.)
Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, pp. 233-240:
“1 November. Two Planes Collide over National Airport, 55 Dead.
“On 1 November 1949 a terrible two-plane collision near Washington National Airport killed fifty-five people and shocked the nation with this country’s worst civil aviation accident. An Eastern Air Lines DC-4, on a final approach to the airport was struck, 100 feet above the ground, by a World War II P-38 fight plane flown by a Bolivian, who was the only survivor [Cpt. Erick Rios Bridoux, Director of Civil Aviation in Bolivia]. The airliner broke into two sections, one of which fell into a lagoon near the Potomac River, about a mile south of the airport; the second, or forward, section and the P-38 crashed into the deep water of the river about 100 yards offshore. [The District of Columbia boundary in this area extends to the Virginia shore. The Potomac River waters fall within DC territory.] The Bolivian pilot was rescued by a crash boat from nearby Bolling Field [on Potomac north bank in DC] and was hospitalized with multiple injuries….[His] first comments on the disaster…were through the Bolivian Ambassador in the hospital where he indicated that engine difficulties had occupied his attention, and he did not hear the final warnings from the control tower….
“At the 9 November CAB hearings, Col. S. D. Grubbs, Commanding Officer of the Headquarters Company at Bolling Field stated, ‘It is possible that the B-25 could have confused the Bolivian pilot, but I seriously doubt it.’ Col. Grubbs had previously issued orders that there should be no instrument landings or ground control approaches to the National Airport because of traffic congestion over the field. Howev4r, the chief of traffic control at the National Airport had frequently requested blind landings be made by Bolling Field airplanes to provide practice for new controllers….
“On 8 November Senator Edwind C. Johson, Democrat of Colorado, Chairman of the Sena Interstate Commerce Committee, emphasized his apprehension over what he considered failure of military pilots to observe regulations imposed on civil aircraft by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. He directed his questions of Joseph J. O’Connell, Chairman of the CAB, to Delos W. Rentzel, Administrator of the CAA, and to W. Stuart Symington, Secretary of the Air Force. In the meantime the Air Line Pilots Association, AFL, stated on 8 November that all airliners should bear distinctive, highly visible markings and all other aircraft should be compelled to steer clear. They also recommended that the federal government should establish an independent Air Safety Board responsible only to the public and to Congress. The latter recommendations were directed to the C.A.B. ….
“It was disclosed on 13 November 1949 that, one week after the tragedy at the National Airport, another near-miss had occurred between a B-25 bomber and an Eastern Air Lines plane in the Washington area. It was difficult to understand why, so soon on the heels of the fatal earlier crash, military planes continued to make blind training flights near this busy airport. Why were these exercises not confined to locations where there were no possible chances of collision [such as Andrews, Bolling, or Anacostia]….
[The CAB hearings] “revealed Capt. Rios had only a limited license, such as those issued to foreign airmen, if they possessed a valid flying license. It was also reported that on 29 September 1947 Rios had failed a government examination as an air transport pilot. Information also came out that no certificate or airworthiness had been issued to cover the surplus World War II P-38 airplane. It was also pointed out that while the records showed the DC-4 involved in the collision was airworthy, no maintenance or other records were available to determine the condition of the P-38.
“In the closing moments of the CAB public hearings, Harold A. Jones, CAB examiner, said that military aircraft had become a ‘hazard’ to commercial passenger flights, and he urged that test flights be barred from busy commercial airports….
“On 16 November 1949, Delos W. Rentzel, CAA head, announced a new ruling that, henceforth, all combat-type aircraft would be forbidden use of the National Airport….” (Haine)
Sturkey. Mid-Air: “….The Collision:….The rear half of the DC-4 fuselage fell like a brick and plunged upside-down into mud flats on the bank of the Potomac [If the wreckage was on a bank, then it would be within the territory of Arlington, VA.[4]
Newspaper
Nov 1, AP: “Washington, Nov. 1. – (AP) – A Bolivian fighter plane collided in the air with an Eastern Airlines plane near the National Airport today, plunging the airliner with its 53 passengers and crew to the ground at the Potomac River’s edge [meaning VA]….The collision occurred about a half mile south of the airport over Mount Vernon Boulevard [today’s US Rt. 1] which runs from the nation’s capitol through Alexandria, Va., to Mr. Vernon, the home of George Washington….”
Sources
Associated Press. “Airliner Plunges Into Potomac. 49 Passengers And Crew of Four Aboard EAL DC-4.” The Bee, Danville, VA. 11-1-1949, pp. 1-2. Accessed 9-4-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/danville-bee-nov-01-1949-p-1/
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Eastern Airlines Flight 557, 30 Jul 1949. Accessed 2/9/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19490730-0
Baugher, Joseph F. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-18-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html
Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Board. Eastern Air Lines, Inc. and P-38 Air Collision – Near Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., Nov 1, 1949. Washington, DC: CAB, September 26, 1950, 10 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C110149.pdf
Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, 394 pages.
Sturkey, Marion F. Mid-Air: Accident Reports and Voice Transcripts from Military and Airline Mid-Air Collisions. Plum Branch, SC: Heritage Press International, 2008.
[1] Sturkey: “The P-38 represented a radical change in fighter design. It had tricycle landing gear, a twin-boom empennage, two liquid cooled Allison V-1710 engines, self-sealing fuel tanks, and heavy armor protection for the pilot. The high altitude interceptor had a top speed of almost 400 knots and could climb to 20,000 feet in six minutes. It was armed with four .50 caliber machineguns plus a 20mm cannon. With external fuel drop-tanks the P-38 had a 2,200 mile range. It was the only American fighter with enough range to conduct the famous ‘Yamamoto Raid’ in early 1943. The Lockheed factory turned out 9,200 of these potent warbirds.”
[2] “Government officials said the Bolivian government bought two P-38 planes from the U.S. about three or four weeks ago for the Bolivian air force. One was sent to Bolivia. The other had been kept here pending routine clearance.” (AP/UP Wire, “Eastern Line Craft Plunges Into Potomac,” Charleston Daily Mail (WV), Nov 11, 1949)
[3] “Bolivian embassy officials said he was their country’s best pilot and had been trained in various U.S. schools and at Randolph field.” (AP/UP, “Eastern Line Craft Plunges Into Potomac,” Charleston Daily Mail, WV, 11-1-1949.)
[4] There are mudflats just to the north of the airport, on Gravelly Point, which is in Arlington County, VA. There is also a low-lying area just to the south of the airport named Daingerfield Island. This appears to me to be the location of the land-falling half of the Eastern Air Lines plane.
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