Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
Douglas DC-3 · Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
From Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA)
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
- 26 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 27
- Survivors
- 1
- 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
- 1
- 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
Douglas DC-3
- Aircraft type
- Douglas DC-3
- 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
- N55V
- Operator
- Piedmont Airlines
- Onboard fatalities
- 26
- Route
- From Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)To Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- 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 October 30, 1959, Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3, crashed on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Crozet, Virginia, killing the crew of three and all but one of its twenty-four passengers. The sole survivor was seriously injured and lay on the ground near the wreckage, still strapped in his seat.
Accident
The aircraft was on an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport, after taking off from Washington National Airport. While performing an inbound turn towards the runway, the wing clipped the ground, and the aircraft struck the ground on Bucks Elbow Mountain at 2600 ft.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The subsequent investigation determined the cause of the accident to be:
A navigational omission which resulted in a lateral course error that was not detected and corrected through precision instrument flying procedures. A contributing factor to the accident may have been pre-occupation of the captain resulting from mental stress.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Piedmont Airlines Flight 349” (revision 1339307829, 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: Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
- Article
- Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
- Revision
- 1339307829 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q7191489
- 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 "Piedmont Airlines Flight 349" (page 8643991, revision 1339307829)
- 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
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft 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.