1955 — Nov 17, Peninsular Air Transport (mil. charter) takeoff crash, Seattle-Boeing Field, WA–28

— 28 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 11171955.
— 28 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Peninsular Air Transport, 17 Nov 1955.
— 28 Baugher, Joe F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-30032 to 42-39757). 8-26-2011 rev.
— 28 CAB. AIR. Peninsular Air Transport… Seattle, Washington, November 17, 1955.
— 28 NFPA. “Summary of Large Loss Aircraft Fires.” Quarterly, V.49, N.4, Apr 1956, p. 394.
— 27 Daily Chronicle, Centralia WA. “27 Killed in Crash of Plane on Seattle Hill.” 11-18-1955.

Narrative Information

Civil Aeronautics Board: “At approximately midnight, November 17, 1955, a Douglas C-54-DC, N 88852, operated by Peninsular Air Transport, crashed in a residential area of Seattle, Washington. The accident occurred immediately following takeoff from Boeing Field. Of 74 persons aboard, 28, including a third pilot, were fatally injured. The remaining 46, including other crew members, received injuries of varying degree. Although there were no injuries to persons on the ground, the accident caused substantial property damage. The major portion of the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire.

“Peninsular Air Transport Common Carriage Flight 17K was scheduled to originate at Boeing Field and terminate at Newark, New Jersey, with intermediate refueling stops….

“At 2332 the flight taxied to runway 13, holding off the runway waiting its turn behind other flights to take off, During this time the crew completed pre-takeoff checks and received an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) clearance. This, in part, instructed them to turn right after takeoff and climb on the northwest course of the Seattle Range to 5,000 feet m. s. 1. (mean sea level).

“The takeoff was started at 2358 and appeared normal as the landing gear retracted and right turn was begun. When approximately 300-400 feet above the ground the first reduction of power, from takeoff to normal rated power, was made and about five of the 15 degrees of flaps extended, were retracted. At this time the No. 4 propeller surged and engine r. p. m. increased to about 2,800. Unable to reduce the r. p. m. of No. 4 by reducing its power an attempt was made to feather the propeller; this also was unsuccessful. As the aircraft then began to descend takeoff power was reapplied to Nos. 1, 2, and 3 engines and the power from No. 4 was further reduced. This action did not reduce the r. p. m. of No. 4 which surged again and increased to more than 3,000. The aircraft veered to the right and continued to descend. Realizing that a crash-landing was imminent Captain McDougall reduced the airspeed until the aircraft was nearly stalled and applied full power to all four engines. The aircraft continued to settle. It then struck a telephone pole and several trees before crash-landing in a nose-high attitude.

“Fire and rescue equipment was dispatched to the scene from both the Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The units arrived promptly and gave first aid to the survivors. Fire which followed the crash was quickly extinguished but not before extensive property was burned and the aircraft was nearly consumed.

“The accident scone was located approximately 2-1/2 miles from and 300 feet higher than the takeoff position of the flight….

“During the public hearing the mechanics and helpers who worked on the aircraft and particularly on the No. 4 propeller, were called to testify. These witnesses were employed by Seattle Aircraft Repair, some working as part-time employees and others as full-time. In connection with the personnel working on the No. 4 propeller, the helper had recently been employed and the CAA certificated mechanic in charge had not replaced dome seals for three years. Neither employee was familiar with the experience and capability of the other or the prescribed procedure to be followed in correctly replacing the done seals. These witnesses, through their testimony, showed there was no clear line of responsibility within the company nor were there reference manuals to define their specific work procedures.

“Witnesses testified that the work on the No. 4 propeller was done under adverse weather conditions. It was accomplished outside in very cold weather and with considerable snow falling. The two employees who worked on the No. 4 propeller, an A&E mechanic and a helper, said that an accumulation of oil was evident under the right wing and around the propeller dome. The Nos. 3 and 4 domes were removed and, according to testimony, the No. 4 seal was found gouged. New seals were then obtained from the company supply, warmed, and installed in the domes. The mechanic helper said he assisted in placing the No. 4 dome in position, turned the dome retaining nut on a few threads, and left the job to go home. The employee in charge of this work said that with the assistance of his helper he tightened the dome retaining nut with a dome wrench. He further stated that he was satisfied it was tight and that he had replaced and safe-tied the lock screw. Testimony of the witnesses clearly showed that during the work the propeller was not feathered, as required by good practice, and the positions of the blades were not checked either before the seal was installed or after the work was completed. An inspection of this work was made by an authorized employee but consisted only of a check to ask if the lock screw was safe-tied. It was also learned that neither this engine nor any of the others was run up at any time to determine the adequacy of the maintenance….

“Testimony of the maintenance personnel showed clearly that at no time after the aircraft was received for maintenance on November 14 were the engines run up. The Board is of the firm opinion that such a runup was essential to a Vital part of the work performed on the Nos. 3 and 4 propellers and a responsibility of the maintenance agency. This was important in order to determine if the dome seals had been properly installed and if there were any leaks. It was even more necessary because the maintenance personnel had concluded that the original leaking oil came from the propeller dome seals, without first cleaning the engines and thereafter running them to be sure. Had the engines been run up following the work and the propellers exercised, the loose dome condition of No. 4 would have been immediately evident by leaking oil around it….

“The Board…is of the opinion that good maintenance practices and procedures dictated an engine runup. It was the responsibility of Seattle Aircraft Repairs and only poor supervision, an over-extended workloads and poor maintenance procedures were responsible for the omission….

“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the excessively high drag resulting from the improperly indexed propeller blades and inability to feather. These conditions were the result of a series of maintenance errors and omissions.” (CAB. AIR. Peninsular Air Transport… Seattle, Washington, November 17, 1955.)

Newspapers

Nov 18: “Seattle (AP) — A chartered airliner loaded with GIs homeward bound for the holidays crashed atop a snow-covered hill Friday just minutes after a midnight takeoff, and at least 27 persons died as it exploded and burned.

“Forty-seven others, including the three-man crew, survived. Many were badly burned and injured; others came through almost unscathed.

“Witnesses said it was a “miracle” all were not killed. The four-engined DC-4, a non-scheduled airliner chartered to the Army by the Peninsula Air Transport Co. of Miami Springs, Fla., carried 66 servicemen who came home from the Far East only Thursday. They were bound for separation points in the East and for a reunion with their families at Thanksgiving.

“The ill-fated plane was one of only two dozen that took off from Boeing Field Thursday during the day and night with an estimated 1,000 GIs who had come back on rotation aboard the transport Gen. Howze.
Heard Engine Sputtering

“Witness and passengers said at least one engine was sputtering before the plane hit.

“Also aboard as a passenger with his family was a reserve pilot for the Florida airline. He was Edward McGrath, 29, who was reported missing and presumed to be one of the unidentified dead. Mrs. McGrath, and their three young children, Mary Ellen, 4, Tommy, 5, and Richard, 8, survived with hardly a scratch. Mrs. McGrath said her husband had joined the airline only a month ago after quitting the Flying Tiger line. She wandered dazed through the milling crowd at the crash scene searching every face for her husband. Finally, in the home of a nearby resident she let herself and her children be cared for until ambulances arrived.

“The crash was the second in the West in less than 24 hours. Fourteen persons including some atomic scientists, were aboard a C54 which crashed in Nevada Thursday.

“The crash here came brief minutes after the plane left Boeing Field on a flight to Chicago, and then to the East. The ship fell atop a hill in a south Seattle residential district, broke into pieces and burst into flames. The bulk of the blazing wreckage skidded against the rear of a house where a mother and her five children were sleeping. They escaped uninjured.

“Eugene Casey, 19, of Chicago, one of the survivors, said he was seated on the left side of the plane near the emergency door when it hit. Casey, in a hospital suffering shock and severe burns, said the takeoff had been delayed by a snowstorm which had covered the Seattle area during the day. As it neared the crash site, he said the ‘whole plane started jarring. I saw wires snap. I don’t know how I got out. I walked right through the fire. I crawled and the man in front of me was screaming. I was afraid I’d fall down. I wouldn’t be able to go on. Some GI stumbled down and I grabbed him. I started screaming.’ Casey said he started wailing and crawling to a nearby house. ‘I didn’t think I’d make it. I never screamed or prayed so hard in all my life.’

“Part of the plane came to rest in the yard of Mrs. Donald Renard. Mrs. Renard said there was a ‘terrific explosion,’ and ‘the next minute my yard was full of soldiers.’

“Every available ambulance was sent to the scene and the injured were rushed to three hospitals. Icy streets hindered the evacuation.

“Herbert Gardiner, a Boeing Airplane Co., employe, told of hearing the plane pass over. He said one of the engines sounded ‘flat,’ and the exhaust was visible from another engine. Gardiner said the plane seemed to be about 150 feet off the ground…’ much too low, considering the distance it had traveled from the field.’

“E. J. Rice, who lived near the crash scene, said as he watched, a wing clopped a tree and the plane tipped. The lower wing struck some tool sheds and garage, and the plane skidded into a big tree, snapping the fuselage open…..” (Daily Chronicle, Centralia WA. “27 Killed in Crash of Plane on Seattle Hill.” 11-18-1955, p. 1.)

Nov 18: “Seattle, Wash. (UP) — A non-scheduled DC4 airplane carrying 74 persons, including 66 soldiers returning home from the Orient, exploded and crashed into a house on the south edge of Seattle during a light snow storm early today.” (Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, “27 of 74 Aboard Die in Seattle Plane Crash.” November 18, 1955.)

Sources

AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 11171955. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=11171955&reg=N88852&airline=Peninsular

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident Description. Peninsular Air Transport, 17 Nov 1955. Accessed 2-21-2009 at:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19551117-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-30032 to 42-39757). Aug 26, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-14-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_2.html

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. Peninsular Air Transport, Douglas C-54-DC, N 88852, Seattle, Washington, November 17, 1955. DC: CAB, May 3, 1956, 10 pp. At: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C111755.
National Fire Protection Association. “Summary of Large Loss Aircraft Fires.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 1956, p. 394.