American Airlines Flight 910
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American Airlines Flight 910, a four-engine
Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with th ...
propliner A propliner is a large, propeller-driven airliner. Typically, the term is used for piston engine airliners that flew before the large scale advent of airliners of the jet age. With the notable exception of the de Havilland Albatross and Fokker F ...
, collided in mid-air with a single engine
Temco Swift The Globe GC-1 Swift, also known as the Globe/Temco Swift, is a light, two-seat sport monoplane from the post-World War II period. Design and development The Swift was designed by R.S. "Pop" Johnson in 1940, despite the fanciful story whic ...
on final approach to
Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of a ...
on June 28, 1952, over
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
. The DC-6 was carrying 55 passengers and 5 crew members from
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. The DC-6 landed with no injuries to any of its 60 occupants, while both occupants of the two-person Swift died when their aircraft impacted the ground.


History

The two-seat, single-engine Temco Swift aircraft was a Model GC 1B, serial number 3558, manufactured on May 24, 1948. It was occupied by pilot Paul Brower, who owned the aircraft, and passenger Don Walker, both of
Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
. Brower, who was 19 years old, had logged a total of 250 flight hours, but had been granted his
private pilot license A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...
only 3 days earlier. Both Brower and Walker were employees of
Central Airlines Central Airlines was a passenger airline (the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) called it a "local service" air carrier) in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to oper ...
at Love Field, and Brower had been commuting to work in his airplane almost daily for the past few months. (Historical Aviation Accidents, 1952, Swift and American Airlines)
American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
Flight 910, a four-engine DC-6
propliner A propliner is a large, propeller-driven airliner. Typically, the term is used for piston engine airliners that flew before the large scale advent of airliners of the jet age. With the notable exception of the de Havilland Albatross and Fokker F ...
, departed
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
for Dallas at 23:05 on June 27, and made three scheduled stops on its way to Dallas–Love Field. On board was a flight crew of three, Captain G. H. Woolweaver, First Officer James R. Poe, Flight Engineer John Barrett, and a cabin crew of two flight attendants, Arlene Siebert and Anita Schmidt. 55 passengers were on board for the final segment of the flight from
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
to Dallas. At 06:56 of the following morning, the Swift aircraft departed
Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
on a VFR flight for Dallas–Love Field, and as it neared its destination the pilot contacted Love tower for landing instructions, requesting a "straight-in" approach. Flight 910 had canceled its
IFR In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...
clearance earlier, flying VFR during its final flight segment, and received landing clearance for Runway 13. The First Officer, seated on the right, was flying the aircraft, and was guiding it down the ILS glidepath and
localizer An instrument landing system localizer, or simply localizer (LOC), is a system of horizontal guidance in the instrument landing system, which is used to guide aircraft along the axis of the runway. Principle of operation In aviation, a localiz ...
, while maintaining visual contact with the ground. The crew could hear the tower give instructions to a light aircraft nearby.


Collision

At an altitude of above ground level, First Officer Poe suddenly spotted the Swift under the fuselage of the DC-6 but was unable to take evasive action, and the two aircraft collided. The airliner's flight crew continued the approach and landed without incident; the DC-6 was almost completely unscathed except for minor damage to a fuselage-mounted radio antenna and a propeller. Capt. Woolweaver never clearly saw the other airplane and was unsure what had happened until the airliner had landed and he was able to talk to people who had witnessed the collision. Witnesses aboard the DC-6 saw the Swift fly into the DC-6's outer right propeller. The collision severed most of the left wing of the Swift, threw the small aircraft over the
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
of the DC-6, thus damaging the airliner's antenna, and sent the Swift spiraling into a northwest Dallas street. A nearby resident heard the crash from inside his home and ran to render aid, but found Brower and Walker already dead. The wreck subsequently caught fire and had to be extinguished by Dallas firefighters; however, the blaze was attributed to leaking
avgas Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, w ...
ignited by a cigarette discarded by a spectator, and not to the crash itself.


Investigation

The accident was investigated by the
Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...
, which issued its final report on March 3, 1953. The CAB primarily attributed the crash to the failure of the Swift's pilot to exercise proper caution during his landing approach. The Swift's pilot radioed the Love tower to request a straight-in approach, but he did so much closer to the airport than recommended by flight regulations, he did not state his position, heading, or speed, and he failed to establish two-way communication to obtain a landing clearance. If a pilot could not establish clear contact with the tower,
visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...
stated that he should only continue the approach with extreme caution under the assumption that conflicting air traffic was in the area. Instead, he continued the straight-in approach as if he had been properly cleared to land. Due to the lack of communication with the Swift, controllers were unaware of the proximity of the two aircraft until the Swift was spotted from the tower, leaving inadequate time to warn the airliner's crew of the situation. The Swift's initial position was below, behind, and to the right of the DC-6, so the Swift's pilot should have easily been able to see the large DC-6 overhead and to his left. From the viewpoint of the DC-6 flight crew, the Swift may have been in a blind spot created by the DC-6 nose structure; if not, the small silver-grey plane would be hard to see silhouetted against the ground. A contributing factor was "errors in judgment" on the part of a Love Field controller who initially instructed the Swift's pilot to turn into the path of the DC-6 upon spotting the second aircraft. The controller, who was relying on his vision to sequence aircraft for landing, initially misidentified the Swift as a larger
Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...
. This caused an error in
depth perception Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions. Depth perception happens primarily due to stereopsis an ...
, as he concluded that there was a larger aircraft behind the DC-6 rather than a smaller aircraft on a collision course. He rapidly realized his error and retracted his instruction, telling the Swift's pilot to turn away, but the small plane did not initiate a turn until seconds before the collision. Investigators discovered
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wiring between the Swift's radio and antenna, which could explain the poor communication with the pilot. However, the radio was reportedly operating properly the day before the crash.


References

;Notes ;Citations


External links


Report
from the
Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:American Airlines Flight 910 Airliner accidents and incidents in Texas Aviation accidents and incidents in 1952 Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1952 History of Dallas Mid-air collisions Mid-air collisions involving airliners Mid-air collisions involving general aviation aircraft
910 Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. __NOTOC__ Events By place Europe * June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...
Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-6 1952 in Texas 20th century in Dallas June 1952 events in the United States Dallas Love Field