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the accident he held commercial pilot certificate No. 10926 with an instrument rating. His last physical examination required by the Civil Air Regulations was given on February 26, 1941, by a medical officer of the United States Army Air Corps at Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York, and showed him to be in a satisfactory physical condition. He had been employed by Eastern since February 24, 1940, and before entering on his duties, had completed the regular company training course for pilots.
Prior to leaving LaGuardia Field on the day in question, Captain Perry had received about 2-½ hours' check time in instrument operation during the afternoon. This, plus the flight time on Trip 21 between New York and Atlanta, was his total flight time during the 24 hours preceding the accident.
Thus, it appears from the evidence that both Captain Perry and Pilot Thomas were physically qualified and held the proper certificates of competency for the flight and equipment involved.
Airplane and Equipment
Aircraft NC 28394 was a Douglas Model DST manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation of Santa Monica, California, and was purchased by Eastern on October 11, 1940. It was powered by the Wright Cyclone G202A engines each rated at 1200 h.p. for take-off, and was equipped with Hamilton Standard hydromatic propellers. The hub model of these propellers was 23E50-189 and the blade design of both propellers was 6153A-18. This model aircraft and its equipment had been approved by the Civil Aeronautics Authority for air carrier operation over routes flown by Eastern for 28 passengers and a crew of four. This particular airplane was convertible into berth sections for use at night. When so converted, the airplane carried a normal complement of 16 passengers. The airplane, as equipped with de-icers, had been certificated for operation with a standard gross weight of 24,546 pounds and a
