1949 Seattle Air Charter Douglas DC-3 accident

The 1949 Seattle Air Charter Douglas DC-3 accident occurred on 2 January 1949. On that day, a Douglas C-47A-50DL aircraft, which was to operate a passenger flight from Seattle to New Haven, crashed shortly after takeoff because of a stall on takeoff resulting from inadequate de-icing. 14 of the 30 people on board the aircraft died in the accident.

Flight and accident sequence

The departure, originally scheduled for 18:00, was delayed because no complete flight crew was available at that time. It was not until 21:00 that the flight crew boarded. It was not until 21:38 that the aircraft taxied to the starting point of runway 13, since initially, owing to heavy fog and visibilities of far less than one mile, the weather minima required to carry out a takeoff were not met.

The crew maintained radio contact with the air traffic controllers, who informed the pilots of the current weather situation around the airport. As the aircraft taxied away from the gate, the controller reported that clear weather conditions prevailed at the airport and that visibility in all quadrants of the runway varied between half a mile and a quarter of a mile. The pilots asked whether they could carry out a takeoff. The controller confirmed this. A few minutes later, at 21:45, the pilots asked about the weather minima for takeoff and were told that a ceiling at 300 feet and visibilities of one mile would be required. The captain asked whether they would be committing a violation if they took off under the prevailing conditions. The controller answered in the affirmative. Shortly after this radio exchange, the controller again reported the visibility, which at that time was limited to one eighth of a mile. A further 10 minutes later, during which the aircraft was standing ready at the end of the runway, the controller stated that the weather seemed to be clearing somewhat. He instructed the crew of the DC-3 to stand by and promised to issue the takeoff clearance shortly. At 22:01 the pilots stated that they could see the four green position lights at the end of the runway and that they would now take off. The lights were installed 5,700 feet from the end of runway 13, which was 7,500 feet long. At 22:04 the controller issued the takeoff clearance. According to the weather service, there was a complete overcast at that time; visibility was a quarter of a mile and was restricted by fog. Ultimately, therefore, the takeoff clearance was issued even though the visibilities were below the required minima. The aircraft began its takeoff run in a southerly direction, and during the first 1,000 feet of the takeoff run everything appeared to be normal, according to eyewitnesses who were watching the aircraft's navigation lights. The aircraft then reportedly began to drift to the left. After 1,800 feet the DC-3 lifted off. The pilots then flew a left turn onto a heading of 35 degrees to the left of the runway. Immediately afterwards the aircraft rolled to the left and the left wing scraped the ground over a length of 117 feet. The aircraft remained in the air for approximately another 750 feet and then came down on the ground, tail landing gear first. After touchdown the pilots shut down the engines. The aircraft skidded about 700 feet further, struck a hangar and caught fire. In the accident 14 occupants, including the three-member crew, were killed, while 16 people were injured.

When the controllers could see that an accident was imminent, they alerted the Boeing Field airport fire brigade, which was located about 1,300 feet south of the control tower and 200 feet south of the hangar that the aircraft had struck. The fire chief in charge had heard the collision. He and two other firefighters who were on duty that night reacted immediately by turning out with all available firefighting equipment.