REPORT OF THE CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD
of the
Investigation of an Accident Involving Aircraft in
Scheduled Air Carrier Operation
Minor injuries were sustained by the Captain and the First Officer of a Douglas aircraft which was involved is an accident about 12:30 p.m. on June 3, 1941 at the Joliet, Illinois, Municipal Airport. The crew consisted of Captain Ralph Eames who held an airline transport certificate with appropriate ratings and who had accumulated approximately 4430 hours of flying time, First Officer Joseph C. Kelly, who held a commercial certificate with appropriate ratings and had accumulated approximately 1485 hours of flying time, and the stewardess, Miss Josephine Larson. The aircraft, a DC-3, NC 28378, owned by Chicago and Southern Airlines, Inc., received major damage. The stewardess and fourteen passengers were uninjured.
The flight, designated by the carrier as Trip No. 10, departed St. Louis, Missouri at 9:41 a.m., six minutes behind schedule, on June 3, 1941, for Chicago, Illinois. It was properly dispatched by a certificated dispatcher. No intermediate stops were scheduled. At the time of takeoff the aircraft carried 720 gallons of fuel and its total weight was 24,244 pounds, approximately 556 pounds under its authorized standard weight. The flight proceeded uneventfully over the top of an overcast and at an altitude of about 7000 feet above sea level until it approached Joliet, Illinois. Nearing that point the aircraft descended into the overcast to an altitude of 3000 feet when it passed over the Joliet range station at 10:56 a.m. The flight had been previously cleared, at 10:43 a.m., from the Joliet range out the northeast leg of the Joliet Range Station to the intersection of the northeast leg of the Joliet range and the northeast leg of the Chicago range. It appears that a miscalculation in flight time, which was made and admitted by the First Officer, resulted in the flight arriving at the intersection at 11:55 a.m. rather than at the estimated time of 11:02 a.m. From this point an instrument approach to the Chicago Municipal Airport was made; however, ground contact was not effected. The flight was then cleared by Airway Traffic Control to the Joliet Range Station via the southwest leg of the Chicago range and was instructed to maintain an altitude of 2000 feet while so doing, and to report when over Dupage intersection. The pilot failed to make this report. Subsequently the flight also was instructed by the carrier's own communication system to proceed to Joliet and land. Arrival over the Joliet Range Station was at 12:05 p.m. During the subsequent approach the Captain inquired concerning the wind at Joliet and was informed that the 11:35 weather report indicated a northeast wind of 11 miles per hour. An instrument let-down procedure was effected and ground contact was established on the first approach through low scud which existed at an altitude of about 200 feet, but which was not severe enough to affect visibility seriously. This approach was from the northwest and the aircraft proceeded along the
