1945 — Apr 14, Penn-Central Air #142 off course/too-low crash, Cheat Mt. ~Morgantown, WV-20
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/ Last edit 12-8-2023.
–20 Aviation Safety Network, Accident Description, Pennsylvania-Central Air, April 14, 1945
–20 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas DC-3-313A…20 Killed.”
–20 CAB AIR, Pennsylvania-Central Airlines – Morgantown, West Virginia, April 14, 1945.
–20 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFM&P, 3/1, Mar 1982, p.53.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 69 (PA-Central):
“Date and Time: 14 April 1945; 16:58
“Type: Douglas DC-3-313A
“Operator: Pennsylvania-Central Airlines
“Registration: NC25692
“MSN: 2262
“First flight: 1940
“Total airframe hrs: 13040
“Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
“Passengers: Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 17
“Total: Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20
“Location: 11 km (6.9 mls) ENE of Morgantown, WV (USA)
“Phase: En Route (ENR)
“Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
“Departure airport: Pittsburgh (unknown airport), PA, (USA)
“Destination airport: Morgantown Airport, WV…USA
“Flight number: 142
“Narrative:
“Flight 142 departed Pittsburgh at 16:41. Eight minutes after takeoff the pilot was given the 16:30 Morgantown weather; Ceiling 1200 feet, visibility 2 miles, light fog. Approximately two minutes later the flight reported its position as over South Brownsville, approximately 27 miles north of Morgantown, at 2500 feet sea level. The pilot at this time was informed of a special Morgantown weather report which indicated a ceiling of 1000 feet and visibility of 1 mile. He was also informed that the Morgantown weather was at the minimum and that it was OK try and land. The captain acknowledged the message and replied that he would “take a look” and advise. Then at 16:56, 15 minutes after takeoff, the pilot was given the Morgantown weather and local traffic information. This was the last contract with the flight.
“Beyond South Brownsville the aircraft encountered a continually lowering ceiling and proceeded at or through the irregular base of the cloud deck. Several witnesses observed the aircraft alternately in and out of the ragged overcast over a distance of approximately 20 miles and over the higher terrain east of the regular course. At 16:58 the aircraft crashed near the top of a ridge on the west side of Cheat Mountain at an elevation of about 2100 feet. When the airplane crashed it was seven miles off course and two miles off the airway.”
Civil Aeronautics Board, Accident Investigation Report (Docket No. SA-102; File No. 874-45):
“The Accident
“Pennsylvania-Central Airlines [PCA] Flight 142 [NC25692] en route from Pittsburgh to Birmingham crashed against the west slope of Cheat Mountain seven miles east-northeast of Morgantown, West Virginia, about 1700 EWT [Eastern Winter Time], on April 14, 1945. All 17 passengers and three crew members were fatally injured and the Douglas DC-3 was destroyed by impact and fire.
“Description of the Flight:
“Captain Harold Houston Jones, PCA pilot and captain of Flight 141, contacted the Flight Advisory Service at the CAA at Pittsburgh about 1350, April 14, 1945, to check the weather between Pittsburgh and Birmingham. He specifically asked the opinion of the Flight Advisory Meteorologist as to whether he should pass up Morgantown, West Virginia, a scheduled stop at which landings were authorized only if the weather was above the minimums of 1000 foot ceiling and one mile visibility. He was informed by the forecaster that a cold front was in the vicinity of Morgantown and that the present ceiling of 2500 feet would lower to below the minimums behind the front. The forecaster pointed out that ceilings behind the front had been below 1000 feet and that there would be little reason to expect other-wise at Morgantown. The record indicates that Captain Jones read the route forecast prepared by the Flight Advisory Service which predicted zero ceilings in the higher terrain behind the front, otherwise 200 to 500 feet stratus clouds, improving to 700 to 1000 feet three to hour hours after the frontal passage.
“Captain Jones and First Officer William Thomas Repack discussed the weather situation and prepared the flight plan for the trip using, in addition to the Flight Advisory forecast, the PCA forecast. This latter forecast predicted for Morgantown 4000 feet overcast, but with a lower broken to overcast layer at 600 to 800 feet, visibility variable one half to two miles, rain and showers. The above conditions were to prevail until 2200 at which time they would improve with broken ceilings of 1000 to 1200 feet. In contained, in addition, a general statement to the effect that conditions north of the front would include a broken ceiling 2000 to 2500 feet above mean sea level.
“The most optimistic weather forecast available was prepared by the Weather Bureau station in Washington and contained a terminal forecast for Morgantown of 1500 feet overcast and 2 miles visibility after the frontal passage which was forecast at approximately 1430. The sequence reports for Morgantown had been consistently reporting lowering ceilings until by the time of take-off Morgantown reported 1200 feet and 2 miles which closely approached the minimum conditions for landing….
“Morgantown was served only by a 50 watt radio homing beacon which was inoperative at the time of the flight due to failure of the power supply. This beacon was not a required facility since instrument approaches were not authorized at Morgantown. Furthermore, the pilot was advised before take-off and again in flight that the facility was inoperative. The airport at Morgantown is located 50 miles south of Pittsburgh and approximately one mile east of Morgantown. Morgantown is situated on the Monongahela River which flows northward to Pittsburgh and which provides a navigational reference for contact operation.
“Flight 142 departed Pittsburgh at 1641… Eight minutes after take-off the pilot was given the 1630 Morgantown weather; Ceiling 1200 feet, visibility 2 miles, light fog. Approximately two minutes later the flight reported its position as over South Brownsville, approximately 27 miles north of Morgantown, at 2500 feet sea level. The pilot at this time was informed of a special Morgantown weather report which indicated a ceiling of 1000 feet and visibility of 1 mile. He was also informed that the Morgantown weather was at the minimum and that it ‘is OK if Jones wants to go in. If he doesn’t think it looks good, tell him to proceed on to Clarksburg.’ The captain acknowledged the message an replied that he would ‘take a look’ and advise. Then at 1656, 15 minutes after take-off, the pilot was given the Morgantown weather and local traffic information. This was the last contact with the flight.
“Beyond South Brownsville the aircraft encountered a continually lowering ceiling and proceeded at or through the irregular base of the cloud deck. Several witnesses observed the aircraft alternately in and out of the ragged overcast over a distance of approximately 20 miles and over the higher terrain east of the regular course. At 1658 the aircraft crashed near the top of a ridge on the west side of Cheat Mountain at an elevation of about 2100 feet and approximately seven miles east-northeast of the Morgantown Airport. When the airplane crashed it was seven miles off course and two miles off the airway.
“Severed tree tops indicated that the plane was in a descent of about 330 feet per minute and was banked slightly to the right at the moment of impact. The aircraft continued through the trees and underbrush, its wings and engine nacelles disintegrating progressively. Its first contact with the ground occurred approximately 160 feet beyond the point of initial impact with the trees, following which the aircraft skidded up the sloping terrain for an additional 240 feet. It burst into flames which consumed most of the fuselage including the cabin and the pilot’s compartment.
A search was initiated when it was determined that the aircraft was definitely overdue and after repeated attempts to contact it by radio had failed. The wreckage was first sighted from the air about 1045 the following day.
“The Investigation:
“The examination of the wreckage was rendered difficult due to the fact that the major portion of the aircraft was consumed by fire or damaged beyond the possibility of accurate analysis. However, it was determined that both engines were delivering power at the time of impact and that the propellers were set within cruising pitch limits.. The landing gear and flaps were retracted….
“Discussion:
“No evidence has been found of any material malfunction which may have contributed to the accident by necessitating a course of action which the conditions of weather and terrain rendered hazardous. Statements of witnesses, inspection of maintenance records and what evidence the records disclosed could lead only to the conclusion that there was no equipment failure.
“It is apparent that the weather situation was observed by the pilot over a period of approximately three hours prior to the accident and that there was available considerable information concerning the conditions at Morgantown throughout that period. The general trend of the weather was clearly towards below minimum conditions at Morgantown at the estimated time of arrival, indicating that there would be little likelihood of being able to make a landing under contact flight rule conditions from the proposed flight altitude of 2500 feet.
“The attitude of 2500 feet obviously was chosen by Captain Jones so as to permit the flight to remain below the overcast if possible since a Morgantown landing is permitted only under contact flight rules. If contact flight became impossible at any time during the flight the proper procedure would have been to climb to at least the minimum authorized instrument altitude and proceed in accordance with instrument flight rules, obtaining a new clearance from Airway Traffic Control. Although the minimum altitude for actual instrument flight from Pittsburgh to Morgantown as specified in the carrier’s operations manual and sanctioned by the Air Carrier Division of the Civil Aeronautics Administration was 3300 feet, the altitude of 2500 feet submitted by Captain Jones was approved under an ‘instrument clearance’ by the Airway Traffic Control Center of the Civil Aeronautics Administration in accordance with their practice of approving requested altitudes solely on the basis of other known traffic and without responsibility for terrain clearance, weather conditions, etc. ….
“In reconstructing the flight it is clear that it was intermittently on instruments between South Brownsville and Morgantown and without question the pilot should have abandoned his attempt to land at Morgantown. Furthermore, in view of his presumed knowledge of the weather he should have been fully prepared for just such a contingency. It seems apparent, however, that he avoided climbing to the prescribed instrument altitude of 3300 feet in the belief that he would be able to locate the Morgantown Airport by visual reference. It is not possible to determine exactly why he was off course although it is entirely possible that he mistook the Cheat River for the Monongahela River and was not able to correct his error in the poor visibility before crashing against Cheat Mountain. It is clear, however, that whatever may have been the cause for his departure from the course the accident resulted from the fact that the pilot at the time was where he had no right to be under the existing weather conditions and applicable safety regulations.
“Findings:
….
“3. The major portion of the weather data available for the flight strongly indicated the likelihood of below minimum conditions prevailing at Morgantown.
“4. For reasons undetermined the flight was approximately seven miles east of the proper course and two miles off the airway at the time of the crash.
“5. In the latter part of the flight the pilot encountered intermittent instrument weather conditions and failed thereupon to climb promptly, in accordance with established company and government procedure, to an instrument altitude which would provide a margin of safety over the adjacent terrain.
“6. While being thus flown in instrument weather at an altitude below the authorized safe minimum altitude for instrument flight, the airplane crashed into the west slope of Cheat-Mountain.
“Probable Cause:
“On the basis of the foregoing the Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the action of the pilot in continuing flight over mountains terrain under instrument conditions at an altitude below the minimum authorized instrument altitude.”(CAB AIR, Pennsylvania-Central Airlines – Morgantown, West Virginia, April 14, 1945.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 69. Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Douglas DC-3-313A crash, west side of Cheat Mt., near Morgantown WV, 14 April 1945. Accessed 12-9-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19450414-0
Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas DC-3-313A near Morgantown: 20 Killed.” Accessed 12-9-2023 at:
https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-dc-3-313a-near-morgantown-20-killed
Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. Pennsylvania-Central Airlines – Morgantown, West Virginia, April 14, 1945 (File No. 874-45). Washington, DC: CAB, March 20, 1946. At: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?websearch&site=dot_aircraftacc
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.