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- in several years.
- The descent of the aircraft began approximately at the time of its entering the area of intense rainfall.
- The air through which the airplane was flying at the time of the accident was turbulent.
- The airplane did not spin or undergo any substantial lateral deviation from its course during its descent.
- At some time during the descent the propellers were turning at substantially above their rated speed.
- The speed of the aircraft at the instant of striking the ground approached or exceeded 300 miles per hour.
- This speed could have been reached in a steady descent from cruising altitude along a path inclined 30 degrees to the horizontal.
- The aircraft at the time of take-off was loaded very nearly up to its maximum weight limit, but was clearly within that limit.
- The center of gravity of the airplane was in an intermediate position and the airplane would have had strongly positive longitudinal stability as a result.
- To maintain a path angle inclined as much as 30 degrees to the horizontal or any steeper angle, it would have been necessary to maintain a steady pressure of at least 40 pounds against the control columns, or to jam or block the controls in a fixed position.
- The altitude and position of the airplane at the time of the first indications of trouble was such that if the difficulty had been a power plant failure the pilot could have turned back completely out of
