Page:CAB Accident Report, Eastern Air Lines Flight 45.pdf/5

 EVIDENCE DISCLOSED BY INVESTIGATION

Examination of the Wreckage

Close scrutiny of the wreckage of both aircraft was made to determine their relative positions at the time of collision. Those examinations entirely substantiated the statements of the pilots, passengers and ground witnesses as to the manner of the collision. They proved that the planes collided while at approximately right angles with the A-26 to the left of and slightly lower than the DC3.

The propellers of the A-26, although badly damaged, bore no marks from the collision proper, indicating that the A-26 was a few feet below the DC3. The high fin and rudder of the A-26 made the initial impact and the nature of the subsequent damage again bears out the approximate right angle of collision.

Weather

Weather conditions in the vicinity and at the time of the collision were: High and lower broken clouds with the lower layer having a base 4000 to 5000 feet above the surface. Visibility was 15 miles or better on the surface and a light easterly wind prevailed. Information from pilots who had flown near the scene of the accident at about the time it occurred indicated that haze aloft reduced the visibility to an estimated six miles.

The flights were in the clear well below all cloud layers and there was no evidence to indicate that the vision of either pilot was obscured by the sun. There does not appear to have been any weather factors that might have contributed to the collision other than the possibility that haze aloft may have restricted visibility beyond an approximate six miles in a horizontal direction.

Possibility of Pilot's Impaired Vision or Distraction

Investigation disclosed that neither pilot was hooded for simulated instrument flight and there was no indication that either was doing anything that might have distracted his attention.

CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS

A few miles beyond Florence the airway turns about 40° to the right. An attempt to save time and distance by cutting across this dogleg could – 4 –