American Airlines Flight 63 (October 1943)

American Airlines Flight 63 was an American Airlines Douglas DC-3 nicknamed the Flagship Missouri that crashed on October 15, 1943, near Centerville, Tennessee, after ice formed on its wings and propeller. All eight passengers and three crewmembers died. This was the second fatal crash of an aircraft designated Flight 63, occurring 2½ months after the crash of the Flagship Missouri’s sister ship, the Flagship Ohio.

Flight history

American Airlines Flight 63 serviced a 6-leg domestic passenger service between Cleveland, Ohio, and Memphis, Tennessee. The full routing of the flight was Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati-Louisville-Nashville-Memphis. Up until July 28, 1943, this route was serviced by the Flagship Missouri'''s sister ship, the Flagship Ohio. The Flagship Ohio was lost on the Louisville-Nashville leg of the flight, when the severe downdrafts of a nearby thunderstorm forced the DC-3 to crash into a field near Trammel, Kentucky.

After the loss of the Flagship Ohio, the Flagship Missouri covered Flight 63. The Flagship Missouri'' was a DC-3 built by the Douglas Aircraft Company for American Airlines. It had been in service for seven years, since 1936, and had logged a total of 17,774 hours of flight time at the time of the crash. The three crewmembers were Captain Dale F. Dryer, pilot, First Officer W. J. Brand, and one stewardess.

Crash

Flight 63 departed from Cleveland, Ohio, at 5:56 pm, 17 minutes behind schedule. The stops at Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Louisville were also delayed. By the time the flight departed Nashville, it was running 1 hour, 38 minutes late.

Departure from Nashville proceeded normally, and the pilot radioed to air traffic control (ATC) that he had reached an altitude of 6000 ft at 10:59 PM. At 11:06 PM, the flight requested and received permission from Nashville ATC to climb to 8000 ft. Ice which had formed on the wings and propellers of the aircraft made it impossible for the aircraft to maintain altitude. The plane gradually lost altitude until it crashed into a forested hill that rose up 75 ft above the surrounding terrain.

Eyewitnesses told reporters that the plane "circled desperately" in search of a safe landing place before plummeting into a deep gulch. Local woodsmen observed the plane's landing attempts and later heard the crash, but were unable to summon help or report it due to the lack of telephones in the area. The wreckage was discovered the following morning by woodcutter John Durison.

The Civil Aeronautics Board investigated the crash and determined that ice that had formed on the propeller or wings made it impossible for the pilot to control the altitude of the aircraft.

The ten passengers included two captains and an aviation cadet, as well as a Texan and four Tennessee residents.