1951 — April 28, United Air Flight 129 Downdraft Crash, near Fort Wayne, IN –all 11

–11 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 04281951.
–11 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United Air Lines Flight 129, 28 Apr 1951
–11 CAB. AIR. United Air Lines, Inc., Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 28, 1951.
–11 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFM&P, 3/1, Mar 1982, Table 1, p 53.

Narrative Information

AirDisaster.com: “The aircraft crashed after encountering a squall line with heavy winds and torrential rains.” (AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 04281951.)

Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation Database, United 129 crash ~Fort Wayne:
“Date: Saturday 28 April 1951
“Time: 19:32
“Type: Douglas DC-3A-197
“Operator: United Airlines
“Registration: N16088
“MSN: 1927
“First Flight: 1937
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
“Passengers: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
“Total: Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11
….
“Location: near Fort Wayne, IN (United States of America)
“Phase: Approach
“Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
“Departure airport: Cleveland, OH
“Destination airport: Fort Wayne Municipal Airport/Baer Field, IN
“Flight number: UA129
“Narrative:

“United Flight 129 departed Cleveland at 18:07 for Chicago, Illinois, with stops scheduled at Fort Wayne and South Bend. At 18:47, the flight reported over Toledo and estimated its arrival Fort Wayne at 19:32. At 19:20 the flight reported it was approaching Fort Wayne, reported again when nineteen miles northeast of Baer Field and was advised at runway 22 was the runway in use and that the wind was five to ten miles per hour from the southwest. Due to thunderstorm activity in the area, the wind at the airport shifted to west-northwest and increased in velocity from 5-10 miles per hour to 40 mph. The tower notified the crew and runway 27 was suggested. When the aircraft was east of the airport the wind increased to 60-65 miles per hour with gusts to 85 miles per hour and a heavy rainfall began, accompanied by lightning and severe static. The flight was quickly advised of the weather change but, due to the sudden decrease in visibility. The approach was aborted. At 19:32 the DC-3 struck the ground in a near level attitude with the left wing slightly low. The plane broke up and the main wreckage came to rest in a wooded area several hundred feet distant from the point of initial impact.”

Civil Aeronautics Board, Air Investigation Report. United Air Lines, Inc., Fort Wayne, IN:

“The Accident

“At approximately 1932, April 28, 1951, United Air Lines Flight 129, a Douglas DC-3, A-16088, crashed and burned 2 6 miles east-southeast of Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana The eleven occupants were killed and the aircraft was demolished.

“History of the Flight

“Flight 129 departed Cleveland, Ohio, at 1807, April 28, 1951, for Chicago, Illinois, with stops scheduled at Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana. The crew consisted of Captain E. K. Swallow, First Officer H. R. Miller, and Stewardess Beverly Ellis, there were eight passengers on board at the time of departure….

“Because of thunderstorm activity in the area, three other aircraft were requesting instructions to land at approximately the time Flight 129 was making its approach. Two of these aircraft landed successfully and the pilot of one, upon request, advised the tower that…[a] thunderstorm was approximately ten miles west of the airport.

“At the time the four aircraft were approaching Baer Field, United…was number four to land in the traffic pattern immediately behind Trans World Airlines Flight 240, a DC-3 aircraft. When these latter aircraft were approximately one and two and one-half miles, respectively, from the approach end of Runway 22, the wind at the airport shifted to west-northwest and increased in velocity from 5-10 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour. Both flights were advised by the tower of the sudden change of wind direction and increased velocity, and a landing on Runway 27 was suggested, it being more nearly into the wind….

“When these aircraft were east of the airport the wind increased to 60-65 miles per hour with gusts to 85 miles per hour and a heavy rainfall began, accompanied by lightning and severe static. The flights were quickly advised of the weather change but, due to the sudden decrease in visibility, neither flight was seen again by the tower. Flight 129 immediately advised, “United 129 heading east” This was closely followed by a message from TWA 240, “Pulling out.” In order to avoid a possible collision the tower then requested separation altitudes for these aircraft from Chicago ARTC and was advised that Flight 129 was assigned an altitude of 4,000 feet and that Flight 240 was assigned 3,000 feet. Both clearances were broadcast from the tower several times without acknowledgment.

“At 1932 an orange-colored flash was seen to the east-southeast from the tower. It was later determined that United Flight 129 had crashed in a field 2.6 miles east-southeast of the airport. TWA Flight 240 proceeded safely to Toledo….

“Investigation

“….The U.S. Weather Bureau first forecast the movement of…[a] squall line to be at the rate of 30 miles per hour. At 1713, an hour before it was forecast to arrive there the squall line reached Chicago. The Weather Bureau then amended its forecast to indicate the forward movement of the storm to be 40 miles per hour and reported severe turbulence in the storm area over northern Illinois. A Chicago special weather sequence report, at 1719, reported a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy hail and wind from the north-northwest at 42 miles per hour with gusts to 57 miles per hour. At 1831, the storm reached South Bend and was reported as being heavy with small hail and wind from the west-northwest at 35 miles per hour with gusts to 55 miles per hour. Two pilots attempted to penetrate the storm in the vicinity of North Liberty and Goshen, Indiana, but decided it was inadvisable to do so and returned to Fort Wayne.

“Several tornadoes were reported along the squall line, three were plotted as beginning near the Indiana-Ohio state border and extending eastward. One of these tornadoes, in its formative stage, was a short distance east of the scene of the accident. No evidence of tornado damage could be found along the flight path of the subject aircraft.

“Large hailstones were reported falling near the scene of the accident, however, it was determined that hail did not fall in this area until after the crash occurred.

“Neither the company meteorologist nor the Weather Bureau anticipated the rapid movement of the storm or its severity in the Fort Wayne area. Investigation revealed that the storm progressed along northern Indiana at a rate averaging in excess of 60 miles per hour instead of the 40 miles per hour previously forecast. It took approximately five minutes, only for the storm to arrive over Baer Field after it had been reported as being 10 miles distant. This indicated that the location of the storm was inaccurately reported since, to travel this distance in the time given, the storm would have moved at a rate in excess of its known speed [or 120 mph].

“The pilot of TWA’s Flight 240 stated that when he was approaching the airport and was advised of the accelerated wind with gusts to 85 miles per hour, he immediately executed a left turn and proceeded to Toledo….It should be noted that Flight 240 turned immediately ahead of and avoided the approaching storm, but that Flight 129 was caught in the storm during the turn. The few seconds in time and the short distance separating Flight 240 from the subject aircraft meant the difference between flying through reasonably stable air or severe down drafts and turbulence.

“Analysis

“A down draft is composed of cool relatively dense air. It is logical to assume that practically all initial down drafts descent to the ground, then start fanning out, proceeding ahead of the storm by means of horizontal flow. Thereafter, down drafts in new cloud developments along the forward edge of the storm lose most of their downward velocity before reaching the ground. It is for that reason that a plane caught in a down draft usually can recover before being carried dangerously close to the ground. In the case of the squall line at Fort Wayne the propagation of the storm was so rapid on the forward side that it resulted in an increased movement of eh squall line amounting to 30 miles per hour or more. As a consequence, the fanning out process never had time to form an outflow ahead of the storm and new down drafts descended to the ground because of the lack of the cushioning effect….Since the testimony of witnesses who saw the aircraft in flight does not indicate loss of lateral control and the aircraft struck the ground in a near level attitude and with power on, it can reasonably be assumed that a severe down draft was encountered on the edge of the storm from which there was insufficient altitude to recover. Down drafts of such magnitude are frequently a part of a line squall development but do not usually occur so close to the ground….

“Findings
….
“2. The squall line moved across northern Illinois and northern Indiana considerably faster than was forecast.

“3. A line of thunderstorms was known to be approaching Fort Wayne. However, it was believed that aircraft in the area could effect safe landings prior to the storm’s arrival there.

“4. When the subject flight and another were approaching Runway 27, they were advised of the surface wind’s increased velocity to 65 miles per hour with gusts to 85 miles per hour.

“5. When the approach was abandoned the aircraft encountered the forward edge of the squall line and was subjected to a severe down draft from which recovery could not be made.

“Probable Cause

“The Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the severe down draft encountered which caused the aircraft to strike the ground in a near level attitude.” (Civil Aeronautics Board. AIR. United Air Lines, Inc., Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 28, 1951.)

Sources

AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 04281951. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=04281951&reg=N16088&airline=United+Airlines

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United Air Lines Flight 129, 28 Apr 1951. Accessed 2/17/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19510428-1

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report United Air Lines, Inc., Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 28, 1951. Washington, DC: CAB, October 22, 1951, 9 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C042851.pdf [Inoperable when double-checked 6-25-2023.] Accessed 6-25-2023 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/Downloads/dot_33415_DS1.pdf

Eckert, William G. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1982, Table 1.