Page:CAB Accident Report, TWA crash on 17 May 1940.pdf/6

 course of 270 degrees until it crossed the north leg of the Wichita radio range at 3:52 p.m. A position report was radioed to the Wichita ground station at this time.

Seven minutes later Captain Bryan, skirting the edge of thunderstorms which rose high above the altitude of the aircraft, changed the course to 240 degrees. It was anticipated that this course would have returned the aircraft to the airway about half way between Amarillo and Albuquerque and would enable the flight to pass to the north of thunderstorms known to be in the vicinity of the airway between Amarillo and Tecumcari, New Mexico. As the flight progressed, static interrupted communications between the aircraft and ground stations although the captain was able to read the weather reports broadcast by Civil Aeronautics Authority Airway Communication Stations and take bearings at regular intervals with a Sperry Automatic Direction Finder.

At 4:55 p.m. the line of thunderstorms moved north and the course was again changed to a heading of 263 degrees. As the flight passed north of Amarillo attempts were made to contact the ground station for clearance to Albuquerque, but static prevented the contact from being completed. Captain Bryan elected to proceed without clearance rather than attempt to land at Amarillo where thunderstorms had been reported 20 minutes earlier.

A weather report received at this time indicated a ceiling of 7000 feet with visibility of more than 10 miles at Albuquerque. Weather sequence reports along the route to be followed indicated