1950 — June 23, Northwest Air 2501 Goes Down in Lake MI, near Benton Harbor, MI– 58

— 58 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Northwest Orient Flight 2501
— 58 CAB. AIR. Northwest Airlines, Inc. – Benton Harbor, Mich., June 23, 1950.
— 58 Gero, David. Aviation Disasters. 1996, pp. 12-13. [Notes date of loss as June 24.]
— 58 Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, pp. 225-226.
— 58 Waterloo Daily Courier, IA. “Fear 58 in Northwest Plane Crash, ”June 25, 1950.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network: “Northwest flight 2501, was scheduled to operate between New York and Seattle via Minneapolis and Spokane. At approximately 19:31 the flight departed from LaGuardia Airport. At 21:49, when over Cleveland a cruising altitude of 4,000 feet was requested by the flight and approved by ARTC. Forty minutes later the flight was requested by ARTC [Air Route Traffic Control] to descend to 3,500 feet because there was an eastbound flight at 5,000 feet over Lake Michigan which was experiencing severe turbulence and difficulty in maintaining its assigned altitude. ARTC estimated that the standard separation of 1,000 feet would not be sufficient because of the turbulence. At 22:51, Flight 2501 reported that it was over Battle Creek at 3,500 feet, and that it would be over Milwaukee at 23:37. When in the vicinity of Benton Harbor, at 23:13, the flight requested a cruising altitude of 2,500 feet, however, no reason was given for the request. Acknowledgement that ARTC could not approve descent to 2,500 feet was received at 23:15, and this was the last communication received from the flight….

“At the time the aircraft crashed, it was flying through an area of considerable thunderstorm activity. The crew knew about the thunderstorm activity and the possible development of a squall-line forecast of a squall line, but had not been given a forecast describing the development and location of a squall line that had been issued 100 minutes before the accident.”

Was, at the time, the worst aviation disaster in the U.S. (ASN, Northwest Orient Flight 2501)

Civil Aeronautics Board:

The Accident
“At approximately 2325, June 23, 1950, a C-54A-DC, N-95425, owned and operated by Northwest Airlines, crashed into Lake Michigan approximately 18 miles north-northwest of Benton Harbor, Mich. None of the 55 passengers and three crew members survived. The aircraft was destroyed….

“Investigation

“An intensive search of the Lake Michigan area was commenced at daylight June 24. On the following day, at 1830, the United States Coast Guard cutter Woodbine found an oil slick, aircraft debris and the aircraft log book in Lake Michigan approximately 18 miles north-northwest of Benton Harbor….

“Several flights flew over the southern Lake Michigan area for a period of one hour after and one hour before the accident occurred. The pilots stated that they encountered moderate to severe turbulence, frequent cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning, but no hail. Several flights successfully circumnavigated the storm by flying to the south. Three that took off from Detroit after midnight of June 24th returned because of turbulence encountered at the edge of the storm. One pilot who returned to Detroit stated that he was unable to fly over the storm because it extended over 30,000 feet. Analysis of both the official meteorological data and testimony of witnesses indicates that the squall line was quite severe and that its southern edge was located at or near the location of the accident at time of accident….

“Analysis

“….It is known that the flight entered an area where there was severe turbulence and that it crashed shortly afterward. This fact in itself indicates that the accident probably resulted from either a structural failure caused by the turbulence, or because control of the airplane was lost. However, there is no evidence upon which a determination can be made as to which of these two possibilities actually caused the accident. Accordingly, it must be concluded that there is not sufficient evidence from which the probable cause of this accident can be determined.” (CAB, Northwest Airlines, Benton Harbor, Mich., June 23, 1950.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1950. Accident Description. Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 crash, Lake MI off Benton Harbour MI, 6-23-1950. Accessed 8-15-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500623-0

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. Northwest Airlines, Inc. – Benton Harbor, Mich., June 23, 1950. Washington, DC: CAB, January 18, 1951, 4 pages. Accessed 8-15-2023 at: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33395

Gero, David. Aviation Disasters: The World’s Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Second Edition). London: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996.

Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, pp. 225-229.

Waterloo Daily Courier, IA. “Fear 58 in Northwest Plane Crash.” 6-25-1950. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com