Page:CAB Accident Report, Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 19.pdf/14

 that a little after 2:00 or 2:15 p.m. black clouds gathered in the northwest, heavy rain appeared to be falling there, and the sky overhead became overcast to a point just east of his home. Although the rain storm approached within ¼ mile, the witness stated that there was no rainfall at his house that afternoon. Questions were also asked of the witness as to the flight path of the airplane he had seen. The point at which he said he first observed it was almost directly west of him (280 degrees magnetic) and at an angle above the horizontal of approximately 80 degrees. The point indicated by the witness as that reached by the airplane at the time of the lightning flash was at an angle of about 11 degrees above the horizontal on a bearing of 316 degrees magnetic and the point at which it passed from view was found to be approximately 4 degrees above to horizontal.

Mr. McGaha's son, Warren McGaha, corroborated the testimony of his father. Like his father, he stated that he often saw airplanes fly over and that this one was at just about the same altitude as such airplanes usually flew. He also testified to seeing the flash of lightning just ahead of the airplane and stated that it immediately "went right straight down".

At the time the investigators were questioning Mr. McGaha at his home, two large twin-motored airplanes similar to the one involved in the accident passed over, proceeding in a northwesterly direction, one at an altitude higher than the other. Both Mr. McGaha and his son were asked as to whether either of these airplanes was at the approximate altitude of the one concerning which they had testified. They stated that the lower one appeared to be about at that altitude. Subsequent inquiry revealed that one of these airplanes was an Army B-18 bomber which had left Bolling Field, Washington, D. C. at 4:55 p.m. enroute to Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio, and the other was Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Trip 7-1 which had departed Washington for Pittsburgh at 4:59 p.m. Upon inquiry the Army pilot stated that ha was cruising at about