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History of the Flight
PCA Trip 17 was scheduled to operate from Washington, D. C. to Detroit, Michigan, with an intermediate stop at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After receiving clearance from the company dispatcher for an instrument flight to Pittsburgh and Detroit and after receiving approval by Airways Traffic Control of his flight plan. Captain Read took off from Washington at 3:50 p.m. The flight landed at Pittsburgh at 4:53 p.m. and took off from there at 5:15 p.m. At 5:55 p.m. Trip 17 received a special weather report indicating that the weather at Detroit was below the minimums for landing at that point.[1] Captain Read promptly contacted PCA personnel at Cleveland and was advised to land at Cleveland. The landing was effected there at 6:11 p.m.
A special weather report for Detroit made at 6:10 p.m. indicated that the ceiling had risen to an estimated 1200 feet and that visibility had improved to 1 mile. This report also indicated an overcast, lower broken clouds, light snow, light fog, temperature 32, dew point 31, and wind northeast 7 m.p.h. When this information was received, Trip 17 was cleared at 6:15 p.m. by the PCA dispatcher to proceed to Detroit. After receiving clearance from Airways Traffic
- ↑ The minimums prescribed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in the PCA air carrier operating certificate for landing at Detroit were: ceiling 700 feet and 1 mile visibility, or ceiling 1000 feet and 3/4 mile visibility if no precipitation was occurring. The special weather report gave the ceiling 1000 feet and the visibility as 3/4 mile with light snow.
