Narrative:
Flight 410 departed Chicago, at 13:52 on an instrument flight plan with destination Norfolk and with stops scheduled at Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Washington. The flight departed Pittsburgh at 17:24 proceeded to Washington at 7,000 feet. At 18:03 the plane started its descent into Washington. While descending, the plane struck a ridge named Lookout Rock in the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of approximately 1,425 feet
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board finds that the probable cause of this accident was the action of the pilot in descending below the minimum en route altitude under conditions of weather which prevented adequate visual reference to the ground. A contributing cause was the faulty clearance given by Airway Traffic Control, tacitly approved by the company dispatcher, and accepted by Flight 410."
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Friday 13 June 1947 |
| Time: | 18:16 |
| Type: |  Douglas C-54-DO (DC-4) |
| Operator: | Pennsylvania-Central Airlines |
| Registration: | NC88842 |
| MSN: | 3112 |
| First flight: | 1942 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8038 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney R-2000-7 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 47 / Occupants: 47 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 50 / Occupants: 50 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 13 km (8.1 mls) SE of Charles Town, WV ( United States of America)
|
| Crash site elevation: | 434 m (1424 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Pittsburgh (unknown airport), PA, United States of America |
| Washington-National Airport, DC (DCA/KDCA), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | 410 |
Flight 410 departed Chicago, at 13:52 on an instrument flight plan with destination Norfolk and with stops scheduled at Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Washington. The flight departed Pittsburgh at 17:24 proceeded to Washington at 7,000 feet. At 18:03 the plane started its descent into Washington. While descending, the plane struck a ridge named Lookout Rock in the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of approximately 1,425 feet
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board finds that the probable cause of this accident was the action of the pilot in descending below the minimum en route altitude under conditions of weather which prevented adequate visual reference to the ground. A contributing cause was the faulty clearance given by Airway Traffic Control, tacitly approved by the company dispatcher, and accepted by Flight 410."
Classification:
Language/communication problemsControlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» CAB File No. 1-0066-47Photos
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
languages: 
United States of America
Share
Douglas DC-4
- 1242 built
- 72nd loss
- 37th fatal accident
- 3rd worst accident (at the time)
- 19th worst accident (currently)
United States of America- 2nd worst accident (at the time)
- 57th worst accident (currently)
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
