Page:CAB Accident Report, American Airlines Flight 20.pdf/23

 such a movement of the aircraft to have resulted from a violent gust of wind. Moreover, the testimony of some of the witnesses in the airport control tower substantiates the crew's contention in that it seemed to them that an alteration in heading occurred before the aircraft reached the intersection of runway No. 5 and runway No. 6. Therefore, admitting the difficulties in lining up with the runway when only one range light was burning and also the unusual character of the maneuver which followed the gust of wind, there is no substantial evidence upon which we could find that either Captain Bryant or First Officer Murray was mistaken as to their alignment with the runway or as to the nature of the subsequent maneuvers of the aircraft immediately preceding the crash.

In considering the situation with which Captain Bryant was confronted when his aircraft ballooned into the air, there must be kept in mind not only the fact that the gust of wind was strong enough to alter the heading of the aircraft, but also the fact that the accompanying rain was so heavy as to virtually blot out all forward vision from the cockpit. In such weather conditions, and any conditions of limited visibility, the lighting system on the Cincinnati Airport is wholly inadequate to guide a pilot to a safe landing. There are no approach lights or runway lights which can be used by the pilot as a means of maintaining his correct heading after passing the boundary of the field. The only guides which a pilot has to assist him in maintaining alignment with a runway are two green lights at each end of the runway. In the situation in which Captain Bryant was confronted he had no directional