Aviation Accident Report: Delta Flight 4 (1935)
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF AIR COMMERCE
Washington
REPORT OF THE ACCIDENT BOARD
BUREAU OF AIR COMMERCE
Statement of probable cause concerning an aircraft accident which
occurred to plane of Delta Air Lines, Incorporated, on August 14,
1935, in the vicinity of Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
To the Director of Air Commerce:
On August 14, 1935 at about 11:45 p.m. at a point 9 miles west and 3 miles south of the Town of Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas, an aircraft of United States registry, piloted by a licensed airman, while being flown in scheduled interstate operation carrying passengers, mail and express, crashed while trying to effect an emergency landing with resultant death to both crew and passengers and the complete destruction of the aircraft.
The airplane, a Stinson, model A, had been regularly inspected by the Department of Commerce on June 29, 1935 and bore Department of Commerce license number NC-14599. It was owned by the Delta Air Corporation and was being operated between Dallas, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, by that corporation. The pilot, Andrew Dixon, Jr., held the necessary Department of Commerce transport pilot's license and scheduled air transport rating. He had satisfactorily passed a physical examination for the renewal of his license on July 5, 1935. The other member of the crew, Herbert Bulkeley, held a Department of Commerce limited commercial license. The passengers killed were Paul A. Ivey, Birmingham, Alabama, and J. W. Thompson, Atlanta, Georgia.
The following is a summary of the facts, conditions and circumstances relating to the accident, at the end of which appears a statement of probable cause of the same, as found by the Board which analysed the record, and a note of corrective measures taken.
This flight, scheduled as Trip 4, was cleared from Dallas for the Dallas-Shreveport portion of the flight to Atlanta at approximately 11:00 p.m. Weather throughout the flight was favorable with an unlimited ceiling and visibility in excess of 12 miles.
Investigation disclosed that the left outboard engine had been torn from the plane as the result of an unbalanced condition caused by the breaking of a propeller blade. The engine was found at a spot about one mile SW of the wreckage and a portion of the propeller blade was found about 300 yards west of the engine. From the appearance of the wreckage and facts available, it is believed that the pilot, while attempting to complete an emergency landing, lost control of the plane due to the absence of the weight of the left outboard engine and the resulting disturbed airflow over the wing.