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control tower and no malfunctioning of the airplane or its equipment was indicated in any of these contacts. The last contact was made at about 5:47, less than a minute before the accident occurred and not only did the record of this contact fail to reveal any report of abnormal operation, but also the control tower operator testified that in his conversation, no excitement or anxiety was revealed by the voice of First Officer Young.
From the testimony of the eye-witnesses who saw United 21 at various points while it was operating near the Chicago Airport, the airplane was apparently operating normally until it reached the point where the left wing dropped just prior to the crash. Therefore, all of the evidence appears to lead to the conclusion that from Cleveland to this point there had been no structural or mechanical failure or malfunctioning of the airplane or its equipment. The only evidence available to assist us in making a determination as to whether any such failure or malfunctioning may have occurred at this point and may have contributed to the accident was provided by an examination of the wreckage.
Fuselage
Inasmuch as the plane crashed on its nose, the pilot's compartment and the nose section of the fuselage were complete demolished. The passenger compartment was intact with a few impact failures of the fuselage back of the wing. The landing gear was fully extended, locked in the down position normal for landing, with the wheels intact and the tires fully inflated. Although there were evidences of fire in the right engine nacelle and certain portions of the foreword part of the fuselage, it had not progressed to any extent and an examination of adjacent portions of the aircraft showed that
