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with intermediate stops a Newark, New Jersey, Buffalo, New York, Detroit, Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana, was scheduled to depart at 5:50 p.m.
Prior to departure from New York, Captain Cooper, with the assistance of the company meteorologist and the assistant flight superintendent, prepared a flight plan for the route from New York, New York, to Detroit, Michigan. This flight plan was based on the trip forecast and terminal forecasts prepared by the company meteorologist using weather data issued by the United States Weather Bureau for various points along the route.[1] The fact that the captain's flight plan did not include South Bend and Chicago was due to the uncertainty of weather conditions forecast for the area west of Detroit at the time that the flight would arrive in that vicinity.
The weather forecast indicated overcast conditions on the route from New York to Chicago with ceilings 800 to 1200 feet in the Buffalo area lowering to 600 to 1000 feet near Detroit and to 400 to 600 feet near South Bend and Chicago. Visibilities were expected to lower to one to two miles near Buffalo and to be reduced by intermittent light rain and drizzle to ¾ to 1½ miles near Detroit, South Bend, and Chicago. The cloud conditions between Buffalo and Chicago were expected to consist of many variable and indefinite layers with ceilings ranging from 400 to 1000 feet, and with intermittent light rain to occasional light drizzle from the lower clouds. Temperatures were forecast to be above 30 degrees below 10,000 feet, and above 40 degrees below 6000 feet between Buffalo and Detroit. The flight was cleared only to Detroit since a lowering of ceilings to below the minimums in the Chicago and South Bend area was expected. The Weather Bureau forecasts[2] also indicated ceilings 400 to 800 feet near Detroit with visibility of one mile or less by 8:00 p.m. and ceilings 1000 to 2000 and visibility of one mile or less in the vicinity of Buffalo. Forecast for London, Ontario, approximately 17 miles north of St. Thomas, Ontario,[3] indicated intermittent light rain with visibility one-half to one mile improving to one to three miles after 8:00 p.m. with overcast to broken clouds at 1000 to 2000 feet after 8:00 p.m.
Captain Cooper's flight plan called for a cruising altitude of 1500 feet for the New York-Newark portion of the route, 5000 feet Newark-Buffalo, and 4000 feet Buffalo-Detroit. His flying time was estimated as nine minutes from New York to Newark, 1 hour 54 minutes from Newark to Buffalo, and 1 hour 38 minutes from Buffalo to Detroit. Airway Traffic Control[4] at New York approved the flight plan and clearance, authorizing instrument flight to Buffalo, with Rochester, New York, as the alternate airport.
Flight 1 departed from the loading ramp at LaGuardia Field at 5:59 p.m. after a delay of 9 minutes waiting for American's connecting Flight 18-97. Flight 1 was off the ground at LaGuardia at 6:03 p.m. and proceeded normally to Newark, arriving there at 6:16 p.m. The flight departed from Newark at 6:41 p.m. after a delay of 9 minutes in awaiting American's passenger automobile from New York City. The flight proceeded normally toward Buffalo making the regular position reports as required by the Civil Air Regulations and company
- ↑ See Appendix A for American's forecasts.
- ↑ See Appendix B for United States Weather Bureau forecasts.
- ↑ St. Thomas, Ontario, is on the airway between Buffalo, New York, and Detroit, Michigan, and is approximately 125 miles west of Buffalo.
- ↑ The Airway Traffic Control staff, a part of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, regulates the flow of traffic over a civil airway during instrument weather conditions in order to eliminate the possibility of collision between aircraft. Before flying on a civil airway under instrument weather conditions, clearance must be secured from Airway Traffic Control for the flight, including the altitude at which it is to be flown.
