1949 Port Washington mid-air collision
Pan American World Airways Lockheed L-749A Constellation and Private Cessna 140 · Mid-air collision
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 35
- Survivors
- 33
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Aircraft 1 · Lockheed L-749A Constellation
- Flight
- PA100
- Aircraft type
- Lockheed L-749
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- NC86530
- Operator
- Pan American World Airways
- Onboard fatalities
- 0
- Occupants
- 33
- Survivors
- 33
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Not stated
- Route
- From LaGuardia Airport (LGA)To Shannon Airport (SNN)
Aircraft 2 · Cessna 140
- Aircraft type
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- NC76891
- Operator
- Private
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Occupants
- 2
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- None · no survivors
- Route
- From Meriden Airport, Meriden, United StatesTo Meriden Airport, Meriden, United States
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Psychological
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On the afternoon of January 30, 1949, a mid-air collision occurred over downtown Port Washington, New York – a suburban community on the Cow Neck Peninsula of Long Island.
Known as the 1949 Port Washington mid-air collision, the accident occurred when Pan Am Flight 100 – a scheduled passenger flight to Shannon Airport in Ireland from LaGuardia Airport in New York City, operated by Pan American World Airways using a Lockheed L-749A Constellation – collided in mid-air with a private Cessna 140.
Accident
The Constellation sustained substantial damage but landed without casualties at Mitchel Air Force Base in the East Garden City section of nearby Uniondale, New York. The Cessna crashed, resulting in the death of the pilot and the sole passenger. Debris rained down upon large swaths of Port Washington – primarily within the Beacon Hill neighborhood and in the vicinity of North Maryland Avenue, North Bayles Avenue, and Herbert Avenue.
Investigation and cause
Investigation and aftermath
The Civil Aeronautics Board attributed the collision to the failure of both pilots to observe and avoid each other.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1949 Port Washington mid-air collision” (revision 1344591975, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1949 Port Washington mid-air collision
- Revision
- 1344591975 · 2026-03-21 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q135003229
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1949 Port Washington mid-air collision" (page 77649171, revision 1344591975)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.