Page:CAB Accident Report, United Air Lines Flight 823.pdf/3

 northeast of the crash site was the first to report seeing anything unusual. She noted a violet red light burning on the fuselage. She could offer no further clarification as to the location of this light. While she could read the company name on the side of the aircraft, she did not see any smoke. The time was about 1810 and the aircraft was estimated to be at an altitude of 500 feet.

The first witness to report smoke from the aircraft was approximately five miles from the crash scene. He stated that "...smoke was coming out of the tail part..." and "...there were brown spots like the paint was off of it about half way back on the body...." Witnesses about one mile farther along the flightpath did not observe anything unusual, except the low altitude, until the aircraft had passed them at which time they observed smoke coming from the aircraft.

A number of witnesses about two miles from the crash site, near the flightpath, did observe black smoke coming from aircraft fuselage near the wings. A large black object, later identified as a passenger, was observed to fall away from the aircraft, followed by dense black smoke. The witnesses stated that the object did not strike the tail of the aircraft after coming out the left side over the wing. Farther along the flightpath a bright object, later identified as the left No. 9 emergency cabin window, fell from the aircraft. Heavy smoke was seen continuing to come from the aircraft.

While the majority of the witnesses did not report seeing any fire, some witnesses did report signs of fire in or on the aircraft.

Shortly after the passenger and the window fell from the plane the aircraft nosed up, the left wing went down, the aircraft nosed down, and crashed into a rocky wooded hillside.

The crash occurred approximately 41 nautical miles east-northeast of the Knoxville VORTAC and about 2-1/4 nautical miles northeast of Parrottsville, Tennessee, at approximately 1815. The accident occurred during daylight hours at an elevation of approximately 1,400 feet m.s.l.

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The four crewmembers and 34 passengers were killed in the crash. One other passenger died of impact injuries after a free fall from the aircraft, landing about 1.6 nautical miles from the crash site.

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The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire damage.

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Private property damage was confined to burned trees and ground cover.