American Airlines Flight 157

American Airlines Flight 157, a Douglas DC-6, departed on November 29, 1949, from New York City bound for Mexico City with 46 passengers and crew. After one engine failed in mid-flight, a series of critical mistakes by the flight crew caused the pilot to lose control of the plane during the final approach to a routine stopover at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. The airliner slid off the runway and struck a parked airplane, a hangar, and a flight school before crashing into a business across from the airport. 26 passengers and two flight attendants died. The pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, and 15 passengers survived.

Flight history

The American Airlines DC-6, carrying a registration number of N90728 and the name Flagship South Carolina, had taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City bound for Mexico City with intermediate stopovers at Washington National Airport and Dallas Love Field. After the stop in Washington D.C., the flight was carrying 41 passengers and 5 crew members: Captain Laurens "Tommy" Claude, First Officer Robert Lewis and Flight Engineer William S. Forbes.

The flight was uneventful until the No. 1 engine, the outboard engine on the left wing, began backfiring and running roughly as the airplane neared Nashville, Tennessee. After reducing power and attempting corrective measures, the flight crew shut down the engine and feathered the propeller near Altheimer, Arkansas. Engine failures were considered fairly routine events on piston-engined airliners in the 1940s, so the crew elected to continue the flight to Dallas, and Captain Claude announced to the passengers that they would switch to another airplane upon arrival.

Crash

At 5:25 am, as they approached Dallas airspace, the crew of Flight 157 alerted air traffic control that they were flying on three engines. The flight was given permission to enter the traffic pattern at Love Field at 5:36 am. Weather in Dallas was clear, with visibility of 15 mi, and no other air traffic was reported in the area. Captain Claude ordered the crew to lower the flaps and landing gear. At 5:45 am, the pilot made a right-hand turn to land on Runway 36, but the airplane came out of the turn slightly to the left of the runway. An "S"-turn was initiated to align the DC-6 with the runway centerline.

The plane suddenly shook and its airspeed dropped precipitously. The left wing dropped and the plane began to turn to the left. Flight Engineer Forbes noted that the fuel flow meter was not indicating any flow to the No. 4 engine. Captain Claude quickly applied full throttle and ordered Forbes to apply the booster pump, which increases the fuel flow to the engines in emergencies. The captain applied full right aileron in an attempt to raise the dropping left wing, and ordered First Officer Lewis to raise the flaps and landing gear, intending to circle the airport and attempt another landing (known as a go-around). Lewis raised the landing gear but did not raise the flaps, stating later that he "was afraid" to raise them because he assumed that the airplane would immediately stall if he complied. Lewis noticed that the No. 4 engine's fuel pressure was zero and its RPM was dropping, and he feathered the prop, hoping that the resulting reduction in drag would help the airplane accelerate and climb. However, with the flaps down and only two of the four engines working, the DC-6 did not accelerate; it continued to drop, headed on a path crossing Runway 36 approximately 40 degrees to the left. The captain raised the airplane's nose in a futile attempt to climb, but the airliner stalled instead, striking the runway tail-first.

The airplane slid off the left side of the runway, bouncing into the air as it struck a parked airplane (identified in newspaper reports only as "an old Army Air Force trainer") and set it ablaze. The airliner's left wing cut through the wall of a hangar, causing the roof to partially collapse, and then exploded into flames as its right wing tore through the Dallas Aviation School. The craft then struck the ground, broke into several pieces, and turned sideways as it slid across Love Field Drive, finally coming to rest after plowing into a building owned by the American Magnaflux Corporation.