Page:CAB Accident Report, Piedmont Airlines Flight 349.pdf/4

 Mr. Phll Bradley, the sole surv1vor, stated that the flight seemed perfectly normal untll the crash. H13 descrlptlon of the weather 1ndlcated that except for the 1n1t1al portlon, the flight was made 1n 1nstrument weather cordltlons. He noted thls when he periodically peered through the cabin wlndow from hlS seat. He also noted reflected llght from the antlcollls1on llght. N. Bradley stated the fllght was a llttle rough and except for a short perlod following takeoff the “fasten seat belt” Slgn was on until the crash.

The surv1vor stated there was no 1ndlcatlon of any dlfflculty. He sa1d the cabin llghts were on and the englnes sounded normal. He sald that a few mlnttes befo‘e and at the tlme of the crash the cabln was qulet and all pas— sengers were seated. He Bald both pllots were ;n the pllot compartment and the purser was attendlng to ﬁle dutles.

Mr. Bradley sald the plane made several turns, although he was not sure of the amount or dlrectlon. One such turn, and seemlngly the largest, occured a few mlnutes before the crash. qe, at flrst, thought the turn was about 180 degrees but later felt it was more 1n the order of 90 degrees.

The watness sald he had Just folded hlS arms and was looklng at hls wrlst watch when the crash occurred, 1t was BOhO. He sald hlS watch was an accurate tlmeplece and he had checked it agalnst an alrport clock earller that day. In thls connectlon, other watches were recovered and some had been impact stopped. Toese showed warlous tames whlch bracketed 20hO.

The approach procedure for the Charlottesv1lle Alrport 13 an ADF (auto— "aIlC direction flnder) procedure performed on a Pledmont-owned and operated comer beacon feelllty. The nlght landlng mlnlma for Piedmont DC-3 alrcraft are. Celllng hOO feet, Vlslblllty l mlle.

The current Federal Av1atlon Agency (FAA) approach procedure as applicable to Fllght 3h? would begln at the Rochelle 1ntersect10n. Accordlng to the pro— cedure 1n effect at the tlne of the acoldent, when Rochelle was reached the flight would tran51tlon off V—lhO alrway in a left turn to a headlng of 212 de— grees. It would then estaollsh and fly a 212—degree track to the Charlottesv1lle {CEO} homer beacon, whlch transmlts on 28h kcs. As an addltlonal ald, though not requlred, the company owns and operates another hmner beacon, Earlyv1lle CEVL}, whlch transmits on 266 kcs. Charlottesv1lle, the outer homer, 15 located h.3 nautlcal mlles from the approach end of runway 3 and about 15.5 mlles from the Rochelle 1rtersect10n.

In normal executlon of the lustrument procedure most Pledmont pllots use both homer feellltles, tunlng one ADF to the Charlottesv1lle homer, 28h kcs., and the other to the Earlyv1lle beacon, 266 kcs. In addltlon, many of the pllots also cneck passage of the Charlottesv1lle homer by nelng the Gordons— Ville omnl, set to the 287~degree radlal whlch passes through the homer. Some, at the same time, also check passage of the Earlyv1lle feelllty by nelng the second own; set, tuned to the BOl-degree radlal of Gordonsv1lle.

Ehen Board 1nvest1gators attempted to plot the Rochelle intersectlon and alrport locatlons, 1t was noted that the magnetlc heading from Rochelle to the Charlottesv1lle homer, as depleted on the ADA Form Ell and thus on the