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Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 105 was a regularly scheduled commercial flight between New York City and Birmingham, Alabama which crashed in the pre-dawn hours of January 6, 1946 while landing at Birmingham Municipal Airport, resulting in three fatalities.〔() Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Investigation Report 301-46 / Docket No. SA-111; June 17, 1946〕 The accident is the only fatal recorded Part 121 (Air Carrier) accident at the airport. ==History of flight== On Sunday, January 6, 1946, a Pennsylvania Central Airlines Douglas DC-3 (registration NC21786), flying as Flight 105 originating in New York City with stops in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Knoxville, Tennessee, crashed while attempting to make an instrument approach to Runway 18 at Birmingham Municipal Airport (now Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport) in Birmingham, Alabama. The plane crashed into Village Creek at the south end of runway 18-36. The captain, first officer, and a check airman who occupied the cockpit jump seat perished in the crash; several passengers were injured, none fatally. 〔 The regularly scheduled flight departed New York City’s LaGuardia Field at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time on January 5. After battling abnormally high headwinds, the flight made routine stops in Pittsburgh and Knoxville. While in Knoxville, the captain was briefed on the latest weather in Birmingham and elected to continue the flight. The flight left Knoxville at 2:51 a.m. Eastern time. Considerable turbulence was experienced between Knoxville and Birmingham due to active thunderstorms throughout the South.〔 The flight, which was scheduled to arrive at 12:52 a.m. Central Time,〔Official Launch Inquiry In Crash Here Killing Two; The Birmingham News, January 7, 1946.〕 was cleared for a straight-in approach from the north by the Birmingham tower at 3:48 a.m.. At 3:51 a.m., Flight 105 notified the tower it was performing a normal arrival pattern landing rather than a straight-in approach. The last radio contact from the plane was received at 3:54 a.m.〔 Tower personnel observed the flight approach Runway 18 from the north in a shallow descent that visibly steepened near the approach end of the runway. The flight continued airborne just above the runway until the intersection of Runway 18 with the east-west runway (now removed) where it touched down with only 1,500 feet (457 m) of runway remaining. As it became obvious that the flight was going to continue off the runway, tower personnel notified rescuers who immediately responded to Runway 18.〔 After turning off the runway to the left and attempting a ground loop, the aircraft continued into Village Creek. The right wheel dropped off the 12-foot (3.7-m)-high bank first, allowing the right wing to strike rocks on the bank. The DC-3 then spun to the right and struck the south bank of the 35-foot (10.7-m)-wide creek. Village Creek was swollen from the rain which had plagued the Southern United States in the days of and before the accident, with widespread flooding and deaths due to tornadoes in neighboring Mississippi the day of the accident.〔Rain-Drenched City Groan At Forecast Of More Dampness; The Birmingham News, January 7, 1946.〕 The plane came to rest nose-down with the passenger area suspended over the waters of the creek. Though the cockpit was crushed, the passenger cabin was largely undamaged and no fire resulted. Rescue personnel alerted by the tower immediately worked to evacuate passengers and rescue the three critically injured pilots in the cockpit.〔〔 Most of the passengers were from various cities in central Alabama, with one passenger each from New Orleans, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Atlanta, Georgia; and Brentwood, Pennsylvania.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 105」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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