- 14 -
At 5:26, Captain Scott asked and obtained approval to descend to 5,000 feet and was informed that he was No. 2 to approach.
At 5:30 P.M., Trip 21 was cleared by the Chicago Airway Traffic Control to the Chicago airport control tower with instructions to report at each 1,000 foot level during descent. Accordingly, Trip 21 started to descend from 5,000 feet at 5:33 P.M. and at 5:41 reported contact at 1,500 feet.
Flight Path Just Prior to Crash[1]
The report of Captain Scott at 5:41 that he was contact at 1,500 feet was the last radio contact between the plane and the company radio station. At this point the airport control tower took over the control of the flight and the communications between Captain Scott and the airport control tower operator were recorded by a voice recorder connected with the control tower radio. According to the airport control tower log, the first contact with United 21 was made at 5:42 and the last contact before the crash at 5:47. The transcription of the record indicates that the clerk in the airport control tower dialed the Airway Traffic Control to report the crash at 5:48, placing the actual time of the crash at between 5:47 and 5:48.
The record indicates that the first contact with the tower must have been made by United 21 just prior to 5:42 when Trip 21 reported to the tower that he was contact at 1,500 feet. While the voice
- ↑ The aircraft was equipped with a flight recorder which was installed in the tail and which was undamaged in the crash. The flight recorder trace substantiates the progress of the flight as reported in the radio communications but provides no dependable evidence as to the last few minutes of flight, the trace ending in a blot covering the period for the last 15 minutes of flight.
