Page:CAB Accident Report, Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Flight 143.pdf/5



PCA, a Delaware corporation, was operating at the time of the accident as an air carrier under a certificate of public convenience and necessity and an air carrier operating certificate issued pursuant to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938. These certificates authorized it to engage in air transportation with respect to persons, property and mail between various points, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Wheeling, West Virginia; Clarksburg, West Virginia; Charleston, West Virginia; Bristol, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama. It had begun operations on this route on March 6, 1941.

On the flight in question the crew consisted of Captain Russell J. Wright, First Officer William H. Riley, and Flight Stewardess Irene Coates.

Captain Wright, age 25, had accumulated a total of approximately 2,327 hours of flight time and was the holder of an airline transport pilot certificate. He had originally been employed by PCA as a first officer on October 26, 1938. He was promoted to captain on March 4, 1941. Prior to the accident he had logged approximately 947 hours in Boeing Model 247D airplanes. His last physical examination required by the Civil Air Regulations, taken on November 22, 1940, showed that he was in a satisfactory physical condition. Prior to his promotion to captain, PCA had given