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from Las Vegas. As we shall explain later, we can determine only that the gross weight of the airplane probably exceeded 25,200 pounds, which is the permissible weight, by not more than 500 pounds, and that the c.g. location probably was within the prescribed limits.
History of the Flight
TWA's Flight 3 of January 15, 1942, enroute from New York, New York, to Los Angeles, California, departed from Las Vegas, Nevada, at 7:07 p.m. (PST), January 16, 1942. Approximately 15 minutes later it collided with an almost vertical rock cliff, near the top of Potosi Mountain in the Spring Mountain Range. The point of impact was at an elevation of approximately 7,700 feet above sea level, about 80 feet below the top of the cliff, and about 730 feet below the crest of the mountain, which has an elevation of about 8,500 feet above sea level. The point where the accident occurred is about 33 miles southwest of the Las Vegas airport and 6.7 miles (in a northwesterly direction) from the center line of the southwest leg of the Las Vegas radio range. (See map opposite this page.)
The flight had arrived at Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 4:06 p.m. (MST), approximately three hours late as a result of delays at several stations along the route. Most of these delays had been of 10 or 15 minutes duration and were occasioned by handling cargo. The longest delay, 1 hour 56 minutes, occurred at St. Louis, Missouri, due to weather. In accordance with usual procedure, the crew which had been in charge was replaced by the crew previously named.
Flight 3 is regularly scheduled to operate between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Burbank, California, without any intermediate stops. It was planned, however, that this flight should make intermediate stops at Winslow, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada,[1] because of reduced fuel
- ↑ When operating over this route, daylight landings are made at Boulder City rather than Las Vegas, but night landings are made at Las Vegas because there are no lights at the Boulder City Airport.
