Lovettsville air disaster
 A DC-3 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 31, 1940 14:41 |
| Summary | Lightning strike (probable) |
| Site | near Short Hill Mountain, Lovettsville, Virginia 39°16′24″N 77°41′05″W / 39.27333°N 77.68472°W |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-3 |
| Operator | Pennsylvania Central Airlines |
| Registration | NC21789 |
| Flight origin | Washington, DC |
| Stopover | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Destination | Detroit, Michigan |
| Passengers | 21 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 25 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The Lovettsville air disaster occurred on August 31, 1940 near Lovettsville, Virginia. Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 was a new Douglas DC-3A that was flying through an intense thunderstorm at 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Numerous witnesses reported seeing a large flash of lightning shortly before it nosed over and plunged to earth in an alfalfa field. With limited accident investigation tools at the time, it was at first believed that the most likely cause was the plane flying into windshear, but the Civil Aeronautics Board report concluded that the probable cause was a lightning strike.[1][2] U.S. Senator Ernest Lundeen from Minnesota was one of the 25 people (21 passengers and 4 crew members) killed.[3][4][5]
"Trip 19", as it was designated, was under the command of Captain Lowell V. Scroggins with First Officer J. Paul Moore. The pilot and copilot had over eleven thousand and six thousand hours experience respectively, although only a few hundred of those hours were on DC-3s. In the jump seat rode a new administrative employee of the airline, hired on August 26.[1]
The DC-3A was newly delivered from the Douglas Aircraft on May 25, 1940 equipped with twin Curtiss-Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 engines (also designated as G-102-A).[1]
The CAB investigation of the accident was the first major investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Report of the Civil Aeronautics Board" (PDF). Civil Aeronautics Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Causes of U.S. accidents" (PDF). Flight. December 19, 1940. p. 529.
- ^ "Death in the Blue Ridge". Time. 1940-09-09. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
The news of the worst crash in the history of U. S. aviation ended 17 months of safe operation.
- ^ "Accident Details". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ Beitler, Stu. "Lovettsville, VA Air Disaster, Aug 1940". gendisasters.com. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
- Airliner accidents and incidents in Virginia
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1940
- Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-3
- Loudoun County, Virginia
- 1940 in Virginia
- Capital Airlines accidents and incidents
- 1940 meteorology
- August 1940 events