Standard Air Lines Flight 897R
Accident summary | |
---|---|
Date | July 12, 1949 |
Summary | Pilot error, CFIT |
Site | Chatsworth, California, United States |
Passengers | 44 |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 35 |
Survivors | 13 |
Aircraft type | Curtiss C-46E Commando |
Operator | Standard Air Lines |
Registration | N79978 |
Flight origin | Albuquerque Municipal Airport |
Destination | Burbank Airport |
Standard Air Lines Flight 897R was a domestic passenger flight between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Burbank, California. At 7:43am on July 12, 1949, the flight, operated by a Curtiss C-46E (registered N79978[1]), crashed in Chatsworth, California, upon approach to Burbank, killing 35 of the 48 passengers and crew on board.[2][3]
The flight
The Standard Air Lines flight departed from Albuquerque Municipal Airport at 4:24am for a flight to the Hollywood-Lockheed Air Terminal (today called Burbank Airport). At 7:36am the aircraft was cleared to land at Burbank. After that, there was no other communication from the flight.
Crash
The aircraft was flying in level flight with the gear down, on an ILS approach to Hollywood-Lockheed Air Terminal (today called Burbank Airport) on a Tuesday morning. The aircraft descended in patchy fog below the minimum altitude permitted and its right wing tip struck the side of a hill at 1,890 feet above sea level, pulling the plane around 90 degrees. The C-46 hit the ground and bounced 300 feet into the air before crashing in Chatsworth, CA, some 430 feet below the crest of Santa Susana Pass, just north of the Chatsworth Reservoir.
Survivors
Aiding in the rescue effort were members of Krishna Venta's "Fountain of the World" religious organization, whose retreat was located near to the crash location.[4]
Actress Caren Marsh Doll was among the survivors of the crash.[5]
Aftermath
Due to regulation violations, Standard Air Lines was ordered to cease non-scheduled operations, and it merged with Viking Air Lines to form North American Airlines shortly afterwards.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ "FAA Registry". Federal Aviation Administration.
- ↑ "Accident details from planecrashinfo.com". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
- ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Curtiss C-46E-1-CS Commando N79978 Chatsworth, CA". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
- ↑ "The Tate-LaBianca Homicide Research Blog". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
- ↑ "Biography for Caren Marsh at IMDb". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
- ↑ "Standard Air Lines Curtiss C-46". Retrieved 2013-09-13.
External links
- http://planecrashinfo.com/1949/1949-32.htm
- Night photo of aircraft
- Photo of aircraft
- Photo of crash from L.A. Times archive
Coordinates: 34°15′30″N 118°38′15″W / 34.2583°N 118.6375°W