crash, Elizabeth, NJ–33

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1952

–33 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 02111952.
–33 Aviation Safety Network. National Airlines Flight 101, 11 Feb 1952, Newark Int. AP.
— 3 Crew
–26 Passengers
— 4 Ground fatalities
–33 CAB AIR. National Airlines, Inc., Elizabeth, New Jersey, February 11, 1952.
— 3 Crew
–26 Passengers
— 4 Occupants of the apartment house into which the aircraft crashed.
–33 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFM&P. 3/1, Mar 1982, p53.
–33 NFPA. “Elizabeth, N. J. – Incredible Coincidence!” Quarterly, V45, No. 4, Apr 1952, p. 317.
–33 NFPA. “Worst Aircraft Fires of ’52—North America.” Quarterly, V46, N3, Jan 1953, p233

Narrative Information

AirDisaster.com: “The aircraft crashed into an apartment building on takeoff from Newark International Airport after an in-flight reversal of the no. 3 prop, and untimely feathering of the no. 4 prop by the crew.” (AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 02111952.)

Civil Aeronautics Board: “At approximately 0020, February 11, 1952, a Douglas DC-6, N 90891, owned and operated by National Airlines, Inc. as Flight 101, crashed and burned after striking an apartment house within the limits of the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey, shortly after take-off from the Newark Airport, Newark, New Jersey. There were 63 persons aboard the aircraft, including one infant and a crew of four. Of these, 26 passengers and three members of the crew lost their lives, together with four persons who were occupants of the apartment house into which the aircraft crashed. The other passengers and the stewardess received injuries varying from minor to serious….

“At 0013, February 11, Newark Control Tower gave the flight taxi clearance to Runway 24, stating the wind was south, variable at six m.p.h., and altimeter 29 92. At approximately 0017 the flight advised the tower that it was ready for takeoff. Take-off clearance was issued, and the controller observed the aircraft taxi into take-off position and proceed down the runway in a normal manner, becoming airborne at 0018 after a roll of approximately 3,200 feet.

“The climb-out appeared normal until the aircraft passed the vicinity of the Newark Range Station. Here it was observed by Control Tower personnel to lose altitude suddenly and veer slightly to the right. This sudden loss of altitude and the movement to the right are supported by statements of surviving passengers and ground witnesses.

“The controller then called the flight and asked if everything was all right, to which he received the following reply, “I lost an engine and am returning to the field.” The time was established as 0019. The flight was immediately cleared to land on Runway 6, which clearance was at once amended to land on any runway desired. No further radio contacts were made with flight. During the last radio transmission the controller observed the aircraft continue to veer to the right at a low altitude and then disappear from sight.

“At 0020 tower personnel observed a fire in the vicinity of Elizabeth New Jersey. It was later established that Flight 101 had crashed in Elizabeth near the intersection of Scotland Road and Westminster Avenue.

“Investigation disclosed that the aircraft had first made light contact with the top of a tree located on the west side of Salem Avenue, immediately followed by heavy impact of the right wing with the roof of an apartment building. This impact was of sufficient force to shear the right wing just outboard of No 4 engine nacelle, the wing falling in to the apartment house courtyard. it was in this building, badly damaged by subsequent fire, that four occupants lost their lives. The aircraft continued forward along an approximate heading of 280 degree, striking other obstructions and disintegrating along a that terminated at Westminster Avenue….

“The Witness group interviewed more than 80 persons and obtained written statements from 40 who were able to supply pertinent information. All surviving passengers, whose physical condition permitted, were interviewed and where possible, either submitted written statements or testified at the public hearing. To summarize the information gathered from these surviving passengers, it appears evident that shortly after takeoff the aircraft made a sudden drop and veered to the right.

“Associated with the sudden drop and change of aircraft heading was an unusual engine noise variously described as “wail,” “whine,” “rear”, “propellers going into reverse, “grinding sound or shrill noise,” and “noise like an explosion.”… passengers described the aircraft as “shuddering,” “vibrating”, and “shimmying from side to side” Two passengers, sitting on the right side of the aircraft, both stated that shortly after takeoff they noticed that the outboard propeller on the right side came to a stop. One of these passengers, on her first flight was concerned to the extent that she called this fact to the attention of her husband sitting beside her. His reactions, however, are not known since due to the seriousness of his injuries he recalls no details of the flight.

“Following preliminary examination of the wreckage at the scene and completion of the distribution chart, the wreckage was removed to a place where the material could be stored under cover and a detailed examination of the various components was made. A comprehensive study of the airframe structure and associated systems revealed no evidence of structural failure, malfunctioning, or fire prior to the initial impact with the apartment building. All damage to the aircraft structure and the various components was the result of impact and subsequent fire….

“Although the system was carefully designed with safeguards to prevent inadvertent reversal, such an occurrence is not impossible. The governor solenoid valve circuit, which extends from the cockpit to the governor on the nose of the engine and which was not isolated from other circuits, will cause reversal of the propeller if it should become energized. Should this occur, due to some fault in the electrical system, resulting in unwanted voltage to the governor solenoid valve circuit, reversal of the propeller would result without any action on the part of the crew and as long as the circuit renamed energized, the propeller could not be taken out of the reverse pitch position….

“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the reversal in flight of No. 3 propeller with relatively high power and the subsequent feathering of No. 4 propeller resulting in a descent at an altitude too low to effect recovery.” (CAB. AIR. National Airlines, Inc., Elizabeth, New Jersey, February 11, 1952.)

National Fire Protection Association: “No. 3 Elizabeth Fire [plane crashes in 2 months]

“Number three occurred Feb 11 at 12:20 A.M. when a four-engine National Airlines DC-6 crashed soon after take-off following power failure of No. 4 engine and the unexplained reversal of the propeller of No. 3 engine. This was the only accident of the three where some of the occupants of the aircraft survived. Twenty-six of the occupants were killed outright, 3 died later as a result of injuries and 37 escaped. Four residents of Elizabeth were fatally injured. It is probable that survival was made possible in this accident since the deceleration was in stages and a twenty-foot long aft portion of the fuselage broke away from other parts of the aircraft and was not involved in the fire.

“A radio car of the Hillside Police Department was cruising about a block from the accident site of the February 11 crash and gave the first alarm to the Hillside Fire Dept. …Within 3 minutes, the complete first alarm companies were on the scene and a third alarm was sounded 6 minutes later. Elizabeth sent 10 companies and 145 officers and men; Hillside and Roselle Park responded with a total of 5 companies; the Port Authority…sent its crash truck.

“The DC-7 first came in contact with the top of two trees in front of the Elizabeth Red Cross Headquarters, knocked down an antenna on the top of this building, an then struck the roof gooseneck of one of the fire escapes on the south side of the 56-family apartment building at 650-660 Salem Avenue. A wing section dropped in the apartment courtyard when the aircraft struck and moved several inches the entire top story wall section at the northeast corner of the south stairway, skidded across the roof, demolishing an eight-inch cinder block, brick coped fire wall and tore down a section of the rear wall about five feet in depth and approximately eighty feet in length. This wall fell on automobiles parked in the rear of the building.

“The impact with this building slowed the plane someway but in its further descent it snapped off several trees in the rear of the apartment, struck and skidded along the open ground behind the Janet Memorial Home, and, leaving engines and pieces of wing and tail behind, finally came to rest when a portion of the fuselage (about 20 ft. in length) uprooted a tree (three feet in diameter) and was inverted across the street from 700 Westminster Avenue…apparently each object struck turned the aircraft slightly to the right and thus it passed dwellings it might well have otherwise demolished and this fact also probably saved the lives of those who survived the crash in the aft section of the fuselage.

“As firemen reached the scene of the third accident, a severe fire was in progress in the apartment house and its courtyard, involving building contents on the top floor, the cockloft and about 2,350 gallons of gasoline in the wing which fell into the yard. Other fires were in the open around…parts of the wreckage…Fortunately, the aft section of the fuselage, where survivors were found, was not involved in fire. Other, less fortunate, occupants of the DC-6, were found in an area of about 200 ft. by 850 ft., with indications that some had been catapulted as far as 650 ft. following the impact.

“The burning wing cut off normal egress from one stairway in the apartment. One of the 4 victims who occupied the building was apparently trapped in a hallway and burned to death. The others were seemingly killed by the falling walls; their bodies were badly burned before they could be reached.

“Occupants of the aircraft who survived reported that after the initial impact with the apartment building, flames entered the fuselage and inflicted serious burns on passengers even before the aircraft came to rest….” (NFPA. “Elizabeth, N. J. – Incredible Coincidence!” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 45, No. 4, Apr 1952, pp. 317-322.)

National Fire Protection Association (Worst): “Feb. 11, Elizabeth, N. J., National Airlines; 33 killed; $900,000.

“The third of three aircraft accidents in two months to occur in Elizabeth took the lives of 26 passengers, 3 crew members and 4 occupants of an apartment house which was struck by the descending aircraft. Thirty-four of the occupants of the DC-6 survived. The Civil Aeronautics Board determined that the probable cause was the reversal in flight of No. 3 propeller with relatively high power and the subsequent feathering of No. 4 propeller, resulting in a descent at an altitude too low to effect recovery….” (NFPA. “Worst Aircraft Fires of ’52—North America.” Quarterly, V46, N3, Jan 1953, p. 233.)

Sources

AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 02111952. (Inoperable on 6-10-2023 attempt to re-verify.)

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. National Airlines Douglas DC-6 Flight 101 crash, 11 Feb 1952, Newark International Airport, NJ. Accessed 6-10-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520211-0

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. National Airlines, Inc., Elizabeth, New Jersey, February 11, 1952. Washington, DC: CAB, May 16, 1952, 10 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C021152.pdf

Eckert, William G. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1982, Table 1.

National Fire Protection Association. “Elizabeth, N. J. – Incredible Coincidence!” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 45, No. 4, Apr 1952, pp. 311-322.

National Fire Protection Association. “Worst Aircraft Fires of ’52—North America.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 46, No. 3, January 1953, pp. 231-241.