CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD
AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT
DELTA AIR LINES, INC.
DC-7, N4875C, AND
U. S. AIR FORCE C-123B, AF 540589,
MEMPHIS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT,
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE,
JANUARY 13, 1963
SYNOPSIS
Delta Air Lines Flight 8715, a Douglas DC-7, N4875C, collided with a U. S. Air Force C-123B, parked on the military ramp at the Memphis Municipal Airport on January 13, 1963, at 0233 c.s.t. Of the five crew members aboard the DC-7, one was killed, and three others were injured. The Air Force aircraft was unoccupied.
Delta 8715, a ferry flight planned from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, while taxiing, failed to negotiate a turn, and struck the parked C-123B. Damage to each aircraft was substantial. There was no fire.
The Board determines the probable cause of this accident was the crew's inattention to duty while taxiing on an unfamiliar taxiway at night and the captain's failure to stop the aircraft in sufficient time to avoid striking a parked aircraft.
Investigation
Delta Air Lines Flight 8715, a Douglas DC-7, N4875C, while taxiing out to Runway 27 for takeoff, collided wih an unoccupied parked Air Force C-123B, on the Memphis Municipal Airport at 0233 c.s.t.[1] January 13, 1963. The captain of the DC-7 was killed.
A preflight check of the engines and aircraft was made by a Delta mechanic prior to the departure. During this preflight check a leak was discovered at the hydraulic line connection with the Meletron pressure switch[2] Permission was granted by the Delta maintenance base at Atlanta, Georgia, to disconnect and cap the switch. This was done and additional hydraulic fluid was added to the system. Shortly thereafter the second officer (flight engineer) assigned to Delta 8715 conducted a walk-around inspection of the aircraft. Finding no discrepancies he boarded the aircraft and executed the normal pre-start checklist. Prior to start-
- ↑ All times herein are central standard based on the 24-hour clock.
- ↑ THe Meletron swtich is an added component in Delta DC-7 aircraft. This switch automatically cuts in the electrically operated auxiliary hydraulic pump when the hydraulic pressure in the brake lines reaches 2100 plus or minus 50 p.s.i.
