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signs of contact with the airplane, definitely indicating that the airplane was not climbing steeply, although it could have been in a gradual climb.
Conduct of the Flight
The flight was cleared to fly contact from Las Vegas to Burbank, having filed a flight plan which designated 8000 feet above sea level as the altitude to be used. Because of the emergency conditions resulting from the war, nearly all of the beacons between Las Vegas and Silver lake were inoperative.[1] Section 61.7108 of the Civil Air Regulations provides, and at the time of the accident provided in part, as follows:
"The following rules relating to weather conditions will govern the dispatching of air carrier aircraft in visual-contact operation. No scheduled carrier aircraft shall be dispatched unless: * * * * * (c) During night operation at least one beacon on the course shall be visible from the aircraft at all times, unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Administrator."
It is impossible to determine whether, on the night of the accident, there would not have been at least one beacon on the course visible at all times from an airplane flying the route at an altitude of 8000 feet above sea level. It is not possible to tell, therefore, whether the dispatching of the flight under contact rules, rather than under instrument rules which would have required a higher cruising altitude, constituted a violation of the literal reading of the regulation hereinbefore mentioned. The fact that most of the beacons were extinguished, however, required extra care in the conduct of the flight, both on the part of the pilot and with respect to others having to do with the clearance and flight plan. The
- ↑ Beacon Nos. 19, 21, 23A and 23B, or the Francis Spring, Kingston Pass, Table Mountain, and Wilson Pass beacons, were unlighted. See map opposite page 6.
