1948 — March 10, Delta Air Flight 705 takeoff crash, Chicago Municipal Airport, IL — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 26, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Delta Air Lines Flight 705, 10 Mar 1948
— 12 Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 rev.
— 12 CAB. AIR. Delta Air Lines, Inc. – Chicago, Illinois, March 10, 1948.
— 12 National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1948.” 42/3, Jan 1949, p. 196.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “Douglas C-54B-15-DO Skymaster….17190 (c/n 18390/DO164) purchased by Douglas Mar 1, 1946 and converted to DC-4 (conversion No. 51) and sold to Delta Airlines May 2, 1946 registered as N37478, side number 78. Crashed on takeoff at Midway Airport, Chicago, IL Mar 10, 1948. 12 of 13 onboard killed.” (Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 revision.)
Civil Aeronautics Board: “At approximately 2258, March 10, 1948, Delta Air Lines Flight 705, a DC-4, airplane NC 37478, crashed and burned 150 feet beyond the north boundary of the Municipal Airport, Chicago, Illinois. Eight of the nine passengers and the four crew members were killed, and one passenger was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed…..
“The take-off roll and the first part of the climb appeared to be normal until the aircraft and progressed three-quarters of the way down the runway, at which time it had reached an altitude between 150 and 200 feet. Then, while still within the airport boundaries, it assumed a very steep, near vertical, climbing attitude. Airport, tower, and flight personal observing from the ground believed the flight to be in difficulty, and though no distress signal was received from the airplane, the tower promptly telephoned the crash and fire facilities on the field. At an altitude between 500 and 800 feet the airplane appeared to stall, and the nose and right wing dropped. A partial recovery from the stall was made before the aircraft crashed to the ground and burst into flames….
“The possibility of mechanical or structural failure as a cause of this accident appears to be extremely remote. No evidence was found to indicate that the control cables or control surfaces had been restricted by foreign matter, nor was any indication found of structural defect except that which resulted from impact. The bent and twisted propeller blades showed that all engines had been developing power, accordingly, engines could not have been a contributing factor. There was also a lack of evidence that ice had formed on or around any of the control surfaces or on their actuating cables or mechanisms. At the time that the flight landed at Chicago and during the period that the airplane remained on the ground, subfreezing temperatures prevailed. Conditions were not conducive to the formation of ice for the air and runway surfaces were dry. Furthermore, the inspection of a similar airplane disclosed no possibility that water from melted snow which might have been tracked into the cabin could have dripped and frozen on any of the control cables….
“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the loss of longitudinal control of the airplane. The cause for the loss of control remains undetermined.” (CAB. AIR. Delta Air Lines, Inc. – Chicago, Illinois, March 10, 1948.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Delta Air Lines Flight 705, 10 Mar 1948. Accessed 2/8/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19480310-1
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 Report. Delta Air Lines, Inc. – Chicago, Illinois, March 10, 1948. Washington, DC: CAB. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?websearch&site=dot_aircraftacc
National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1948.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 42, No. 3, January 1949, pp. 133-197.
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