On August 31, 1940,

Pennsylvania Central Airlines Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. Capital's headquarters were located at Washington Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, National Airport (now Reagan Washington Natio ...

Trip 19, a new Douglas DC-3A, was flying from Washington, D.C. to Detroit with a stopover in Pittsburgh. While the aircraft was flying near

Lovettsville, Virginia Lovettsville is a town in Loudoun County, located near the very northern tip of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. Settled primarily by German immigrants, the town was originally established in 1836. The population was 1,613 at the 2010 ...

at and approaching the West Virginia border, Trip 19 encountered an intense thunderstorm. Numerous witnesses reported seeing a large flash of lightning shortly before it nosed over and plunged to earth in an

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

field. With limited accident investigation tools at the time, it was at first believed that the most likely cause was the plane flying into windshear, but 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 ...

report concluded that the probable cause was a lightning strike. U.S. Senator

Ernest Lundeen Ernest Lundeen (August 4, 1878August 31, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician. Family and education Lundeen was born and raised on his father's homestead in Brooklyn Township of Lincoln County near Beresford in the Dakota Territory. H ...

was among the 21 passengers and 4 crew members killed. Also on board were "a Special Agent of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, a second FBI employee, and a prosecutor from Criminal Division of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

." At the time of the crash, the FBI was investigating Sen. Lundeen's ties to

George Sylvester Viereck George Sylvester Viereck (December 31, 1884 – March 18, 1962) was a German-American poet, writer, and pro-German propagandist, latterly on behalf of the German Nazi government. Biography Early life Sylvester's father, Louis Viereck, was born ...

, a top Nazi spy working in the US to spread pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic propaganda. The crash occurred during a severe rainstorm, and recovery efforts were hindered by impassable flooded roads and poor communications: the crash cut the only

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

lines in the area. Wreckage was scattered over a broad area and it is believed that all aircraft occupants died instantly on impact. At the time, the crash was the deadliest disaster in the history of U.S. commercial aviation. "Trip 19", as it was designated, was under the command of Captain Lowell V. Scroggins with First Officer J. Paul Moore. The pilot and copilot had over eleven thousand and six thousand hours experience respectively, although only a few hundred of those hours were on DC-3s. The aircraft was carrying 21 revenue passengers, a single

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

, and a deadheading airline manager riding in the jump seat in the cockpit. The DC-3A was newly delivered from

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

on May 25, 1940, equipped with twin

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

R-1820 Cyclone 9 engines (also designated as G-102-A). The CAB investigation of the accident was the first major investigation to be conducted under the

Bureau of Air Commerce The Air Commerce Act of 1926 created an Aeronautic Branch of the United States Department of Commerce. Its functions included testing and licensing of pilots, certification of aircraft and investigation of accidents. In 1934, the Aeronautics Branc ...

act of 1938.

References

External links

Accident report
-

PDF
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1940s Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather Airliner accidents and incidents in Virginia Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1940 Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-3 Loudoun County, Virginia 1940 in Virginia Capital Airlines (United States) accidents and incidents 1940 meteorology August 1940 events