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number, length, and alignment of the present runways and the location of the extensive construction work which was in progress on the airport on December 11, 1940, the day of the accident. Some time prior to the accident, a portion of land in the northeast corner of the airport around the present Curtiss-Wright plant was leased by the City of St. Louis to the Curtiss-Wright Company for the construction of an airplane factory. In connection with the construction, several 60-foot poles were erected on December 6, 1940, approximating the location of the future outer boundaries of the factory building and indicating the actual height of the building upon completion.
The Curtiss-Wright Company is a contractor for military aircraft being built for the United States Government. Due to limited manufacturing facilities at its existing plant located on Lambert-St. Louis Airport, it was forced to expand rapidly to meet production requirements. The construction work which required the erection of poles was part of the expansion program for national defense. Representatives of the air carriers operating into St. Louis, the Civil Aeronautics Administration,[1] the City of St. Louis, and other interested persons attended a conference on October 11, 1940, at which this construction work and the location of the poles were discussed.
Flood lights were to be placed on the poles to facilitate a 24-hour working period on the project and a red light had been placed on the top of each pole as an obstruction marker. These lights were lighted at the time of the accident.
- ↑ The "Civil Aeronautics Administration" is the term used to designate the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics and his staff, which includes the inspection, air traffic control, and airways personnel. The Civil Aeronautics Administration, an executive agency, is entirely separate and independent of the Civil Aeronautics Board, which is a quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative agency of Congress.
