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Captain Read, age 52, was the holder of an airline transport pilot certificate and had logged 5287 hours 34 minutes of flight time, of which approximately 1430 hours had been in Douglas DC-3 equipment. He had first been employed as a co-pilot in 1935 by the Pennsylvania Airlines, predecessor of PCA, and was promoted to Captain in May 1940. When he was last examined by a medical examiner of the Civil Aeronautics Administration on January 14, 1942, he was found to be in satisfactory physical condition. At the time of the accident he was certified as competent to fly the route from Washington to Detroit.
First Officer Ricks, age 32, was the holder of a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating and had logged 1555 hours 12 minutes of flying time, of which approximately 500 hours had been in Douglas DC-3 equipment. When last examined by a medical examiner of the Civil Aeronautics Administration on January 8, 1942, Ricks was found to be in satisfactory physical condition.
It appears from the evidence that Captain Read and First Officer Ricks held the proper certificates of competency and were physically qualified for the flight involved.
Airplane and Equipment
Airplane NC 21788, a Douglas model DC-3, had been manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc., in 1940 and had been purchased by PCA on May 22, 1940. It was equipped with two Wright model G102A engines, and with Hamilton Standard constant speed,
