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First Officer Byron M. Crabtree, aged 32, had at the time of the accident accumulated a total of approximately 469 hours on Douglas equipment since his employment by Eastern on September 17, 1940. He had 64 hours and 20 minutes of instrument time, and 8 hours and 50 minutes of Link Trainer time. Prior to employment by Eastern he had accumulated a total flight time of 4,100 hours. His last physical examination required by the Civil Air Regulations was taken on December 11, 1940, and showed him to be in satisfactory physical condition.
Captain O'Brien had had a rest period of more than 12 hours prior to going on duty April 3, 1941, and had flown 5 hours and 18 minutes during the 24-hour period preceding the departure of the trip in question. First Officer Crabtree had had the same amount of flying time and rest as had Captain O'Brien during the 24-hour period preceding the departure of Trip 14 from Miami. O'Brien and Crabtree had flown together as captain and first officer for approximately 37 hours.
It appears from the evidence that both Captain O'Brien and First Officer Crabtree were physically qualified and held proper certificates of competency covering the flight and equipment involved.
Airplane and Equipment
Aircraft NC 21727 was a Douglas Model DC-3, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation of Santa Monica, California, and purchased by Eastern on August 15, 1939. It was powered with two Wright Cyclone G2E engines, each rated at 1,000 h.p. for take-off, and was equipped with Hamilton Standard, constant speed hydromatic, full-feathering propellers. The hub model of these propellers was 23E50-III and the blade design was 6153A-18. This model aircraft and its equipment had been approved by the then Civil Aeronautics Authority for air carrier operation over routes flown by Eastern with 21 passengers and crew of three. The airplane had been certificated for operation with a standard weight of 24,295 pounds. The airplane and its equipment had received the overhauls, periodic inspections, and checks which are provided for in company practice and approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
History of the Flight
Eastern's Trip 14 of April 3, 1941, originated at the Thirty-Sixth Street Airport, Miami, Florida, with New York, New York, as its destination. Intermediate stops were scheduled at West Palm Beach, Daytona Beach, and Jacksonville, Florida;[1] Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D. C.; Baltimore, Maryland; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Captain O'Brien, First Officer Crabtree, and Flight Steward Marin were assigned to operate the flight to Jacksonville, Florida.
On the morning of April 3, 1941, Captain O'Brien arrived at the airport at approximately 7:00 o'clock and attended to routine matters in connection with the flight. He and the company meteorologist prepared a flight plan for the Miami—Jacksonville leg which was based on hourly weather sequence reports, forecasts issued by the United States Weather Bureau at Atlanta, Georgia, for various points along the route and a trip forecast previously prepared by the company meteorologist.
- ↑ A usual point of crew change for this flight.
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