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Significant weather. Scattered showers and thunderstorms along east slope Rockies, Montana, Wyoming and eastward into Nebraska, Kansas spreading eastward to about western Iowa, western Missouri by morning . . . .
The aviation area forecast issued at 0045, July 1, 1965, valid 0100-1300 was in part as follows:
. . . In eastern Kansas patches ceiling 8,000-12,000 feet broken variable to scattered and elsewhere in Missouri and Iowa clear to 30,000 feet thin overcast.
The aviation terminal forecast for Kansas City issued at 2245 June 30, 1965, for the period 2300-1100 was in part:
0200 (July 1) - 0600 30,000 feet thin scattered, visibility 5 miles, haze. An amended forecast issued at 0245 July 1, 1965, valid 0245-1100 was in part:
"Kansas City 0245-0800, 8,000 scattered, 30,000 thin broken, visibility 5 miles, haze, smoke, wind 120° 10 knots, occasional ceiling 1,500 feet broken 3,000 feet overcast, visibility 3 miles, thunderstorms, light rain showers, haze, smoke, after 0330."
The last recorded weather observation taken at Kansas City before the accident was at 0455 and reported an indefinite ceiling 700 feet, sky obscured, visibility 2 miles, thunderstorms, heavy rain showers, haze and smoke, wind 020 degrees, 8 knots. Thunderstorms were reported south to overhead moving east, with frequent lightning in clouds and cloud to cloud all quadrants.
An observation taken 2 minutes after the accident reported a measured ceiling of 700 feet broken, 1,500 overcast, visibility 2 miles, thunderstorms, heavy rain showers, haze and smoke, wind 060 degrees, 9 knots. Thunderstorms were reported in all quadrants moving east with lightning in clouds and cloud to cloud. The wind direction was variable.
Thunderstorms began at Kansas City at 0317 and ended at 0608. Rain began as very light showers at 0344 and became light rain showers at 0434. From 0439 to 0535 rain fell continuously as moderate or heavy rain showers. During the period 0515 to 0530 0.28 inches of rain fell.[1]
The captain of a jet transport that landed about four minutes before the accident said that the weather was better than reported but the rain increased in intensity during his landing rollout.
Ground witnesses at various positions around the airport observed Flight 12 during the landing and rollout. Many of them commented about the large amounts of water on the runway and thrown into the air by the wheels and the application of reverse thrust of the flight. Some witnesses stated that the aircraft was obscured from their sight in the spray.
The captain of Flight 12 testified that he encountered light rain on the landing approach and that the rain increased after landing, He also testified that
- ↑ The USWB Manual of Surface Observations defines heavy rainfall as a rate of fall of more than 0.30 inches in 1 hour or more than 0.03 inches in 6 minutes.
