SECTION M - NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2012
• Sequence Number: 42
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
a. Ti airoraf t UAI str s risro .a+ ites ' 50 faast bilmr
the crest of an 11,300 toot ride WWI le on a r ifts hooding at a w
des res. tiaat of Upoet ,euI s rewoilesd that the aircraft i*s
a stow al b att3tsads with vii as 3"" at the Use at ai.r weft 3taxt contacted ' growd *=UmM airbupsou a,$
om q*"xd+
as~sttsi 60 test to the d point at ? p&ct and " 20 ti ttr ooming to
rest sabers it x ed. 61th the ogre ticm of a taw am U i as tacish
Ovate t wen as proad stre]y 140 ft" toxv" at the slrariat?t, am% Of the
we - ok%p rewdn d within 50 test of the aircraft.
be As K OM, wing wars intact. am on1 r & il.ghbt1y burnw. The
left v" ted &M the air tt &%'Q* uLng root, with fWtther
sapsMtd ens beta uon the eftine saes las and at the j re of the auto.
board pawl* 41 t Ube amt for wrns3, Wit. 1j ttou at
XWo" :1408 MA t, left ilep actuator irrdic ted that the wia tIVs uszs
aaac ""isats ID degrees and In qn*UW at the tie of inprat.
The i1 corm a PO" We : icatCdr ware not faawad. met
use of ID w s is a x(.54 +s iglfrt for
Aft inst s st aWmaich as 3etdctm. AU 3 gear were raetraoted.
4. i Ni' 2r 3 and 4 had spparat,ad troo Moir nsaaalless
and Ni' l .n, ;inn was p e se tsd. Vtsasl nation of t e
avInon MA not indicate se3.Auictt prior to iZVaot. AU tour pzr>-
ps found separated from, the eqox" and ~grpaait^aa#~ion indicated
a blab power high rdt~o1 tt~ros per u1nute (~) anion at the Use
Of ie t,. taaalM Mttsr for ouglow Hr 3 and 4 mated 240 Rt
at ie ? AU other flight and sine i,arstmnmt fowd did not reveal
reliable iuror tion.
d. A rVVIAM of the Aircraft * ~r3 xttawr~WSSre . sraordi avvilable
rs d no Kati causes to the oa dant. The Atror*ft VUj* t
ietaort and i i s es r+d1 DU Fads M preeaeed aim* U Movwibor
39% were destroyed in the crash, {.iusstion i at the pra"tli ,let and
post fli t araint tome erfaroc al at the Burbank drport *oncoming the
diearx~M at>aieea and salf'unctione report" since 11 44a r 3955 r "Waled
no couwwting causes to the aacci t.. Ift 69d periodic i*Ot.iou
i
was cone 3e teed an 11 0VOMDer 19550 The aircraft had 0 a"3artsd an le
oti tr Lid Air +, envies an 4 October 15055 and had flow,
213s40 since that. date. Eleven technical orders were. not an ilLsd with;
k e r a n o r - o ntas wih Ustse technical orders v" not aouWkwed
a C*nul ting +a tor t accident.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
e. A review of the is niix records revealed the air arm
to be hi; b1 r eogiex3~. TTbe pUot graduated from fl4inz OWUMI In
apte xr 1,950 and flown a tot of 3 hour& oft ich 1383 hours
In
were in G. h type ii~ya mrtt. tie i;r : uaat klfro from C-54 lo~ty~training G-514
June 195, and ~"ess~r passed a 1lG{t examination as a 41al aircretrt cua; aer in L=ov 1953. his last, rufic ietvy f 1i tlt Wmck
tame in ug t 195:. 41a latest "W;4 route fli sht check was on 14 il3ovea-
ber 1951 from K.11,y ak di loraa i to :to*i, C i e x~a3a . l truetor
pilot cow ata on all i1i to it .iioated an above &vez ee ppilot. E had
a reen instr ent oard w:tioh would nave e 4 red 9 a ;ust 1956* lae
copilot graduated from C. ,yin;, ecUoo . on 14 April 1953. aec u -
.la ed a total of a dou 'e 'lth 409 ri ?a in Gam's. kac a iii" :o
qualified C44 second pilot* his 2i z. tratnl records >owed satis-
factory performance for his erse *ri a and q lifica ion . iii .flit:At
en,--der had flown a tot" of 3U1a1 hours. he UW been a flirt
ha-,4c tsohaica an since 1 Ise aisa-r 1 5,}. ale was deasi -ted an lnstruc-
t or " tight Mimic rec tnt ian In Aipri i. 19 i . ,ll flij t records indi-
cated an above aver*; e e rience level. :tinvsat . ation of vto crew
auto -r lures indicated that, the criew was carefully selected
for this atesion and that they had Betz an intep;ral crew aim* the
start of tw raiasx on. a11,L atal f:i ,ht would have been taco pith m and
trip on this zaute w a An the past 30 days for Uze crew. The route
brie, in Car the mdusion was at t*adquarters, ;,:; ir. A route flight
check as required by t"kA -cs Anal 5;7-1 was not a ced for the
sped is route. vin o ficer "alened to this project from y uartere5
d- W# ' ir, toa,, . C.e stated that he mK% U w firot trip with each
crew for pilot ?'a nil sari ton onl~ . 1, written record to indicate the
de ae of qual=aattion was not in evidence.
C. Lion of the > it crew . t "fling Crating secure
(::ail) established for this flight r algid liexi.ted operational c trol.
The 34)? did not oarry an o x ; atiotaal heading] it woo zmiWer dated
nor mod. he WP stated that the aircraft acid air crew were under
the operational control at the os Idere aatertei Alrstr p. !bf. Aj-P
provided that an Atomic z srgy Go d.sal c n () set its officer could
eaatabi .uti the dent Lion in event of bad weather. ' : ? further
stated that the MA4b airara t co a ender would have o tlett reewponsi
bi1ity far safety in ? . A, ht an that he w ui4 hoagie the final decision
whether or Toot Uic ? dht will, o." At w uld also bays tale' raaspoxeu41ity
for co. jaliw*e with all affix, ioave : x uia tivns.
g? :malt Lton of the clearance for tr4s ? 1. ht revealed non-
Co ipliaisase with ; ra ,r 3Tde Air ?'orce j;a.a'tt + t3~-1l,e stud
1.) e~uruaa,z 19539 11 crap i pr ovU s for an instrument clearance
to a destination without an iustama=13 yroach procedure on when a
pilot can clear lii ~ to a point of Utdown which has an inswa ant
approach procedure and then proceed to jiffs dent: t i,on without an inst rtz-
ue-nt a >prosob procedurt under co iti e. .1-. f hi was iiIsci and
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
O y 11-1 via aye to t'ae uoodaprix of 3 wads homer exit
then ' R direct to c eati tion. oodapr` n e of a not haver a ublished
letdowns airport mr weather station. The 4rcrew :.)? for this. operation
provides for a route pros e o 's via air i ya fron Burbank* Calltonda,,
to the Las Vegas,, Nevada, 'adio 1:al a -A&ti. n tux! VA direct to deetina-
tion. :=epxese ctutiv+es of the r.atartown der indicated that the
route ohmage was authorised V the Watertown Base . "er. ti+esa e
?ven were to rare approxia Ley ten minutes flying, tine and to av +d
f lyixr ; thxvu h th hi h duty a llis ,3 Xndtsa springs -XJ jet aircraft
traffic*
h? Lxa6daution of the fli hht d1wudaa foreov revealed certain
iliac rep ien, ;i,-,4 maser 14r AFtX)P-OC*4'A'. 36O 5a to all aagar oo0-
on 27 195%, a revision to co 4cti re ua tiouss required
that a D Form January 5 aircraft cicAraace tam be cz;anc1et aid filed for
all lights from. bases without a 4tar,)r base operations. 'Am
,ii7 for the : 3kwbsnk to "uert o ai ?liCht stated that no mal aircraft clear..
am* procedures would be used, yet the wava ?' sad `3 aal ],tr provided
for a procedure to activate a CAA raster flight plan tly telephone or
radio to the 3urbenk radio range staation. That flight Rn, as well. as
others on the am* projects was filed tr telephone to the srbeek GM
office ueiuC the Csh r li. t t'lan forma. A completed Zip Fora 175 wow not
loft with app?'opriste personal at . trbank. The cargo & ad Asses
manifests were not standard xUltaxy formes* the cargo manifest cared
was dated 11 !low n-bor 1955 acct medicated 1132 pounds of cargo; hewer,
the D orm 3%t# Aircraft, Weight exit ewe, Indicated 1075 pounds of
cargo. Fie passer weights on the Di form 361;k indicated Ax
poemb-
gore in C az D cc ar"t nts at 0 powads eahs mile four immoagers
were listed in 1: coa aroma t at 300 ;so da each. It was further noted
that the twi?,t ar4 3a .anoe Fora indicated 2200 aliens of fuel for
takeoff cullditi on which would be a tk-ir eleven (U) hors of
wharf as the Cu, clearsaw indicated ei ;at (i 3) hours of fuel aboard.
The aircraft rc )or ed over to auk range at 0712 ?ST at an altitude at
91W feet and ILXQ on Wp after an instrument c11-,b out on the southeast
course of the l urboa- low treque nc r range. o other altitude was given
in four other position reports an the f 3 _ tt otter than 3000 feet an top.
i. Asti, atian of the clears procedures did not reveal
that a weather briefing was 4van to the pilot prior to takeoff.
Airorw 50? for this operation provided for the weather infoxmstim
to be s err k tell from the wu4 atheer Office at asrtrbank. The
pilot of enoth .r crew her zd to the mission stated that t'hey' ware
briefed not to use their actual destination area but to use as Vegas
as a weather det.tir tion in requesting weather inforrsation. A master
CAA flight pl , h rtarent or C ,rat CA. Fora X398, wt;'Lab was
listed as Heater Nr 1 for another aircraft, as well as this aircraft;,
carried an anxx tats.:. oa In the renarka- section "*1 W" 'fl x LA4 "'. Ua4
aesaa AU F or Conwado 992411,, dated 5 October 1M#
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
stato t ii. t: ali i& xvvtoi ai CC 60-11, use of t ph"" "Wean er
Checked by 4'i1ot" is no ' .ror as : 5 der by "Au-b a tom, tea r
office doea t r .,.,,- ! weafor briefirz ;,$ nor did ` of the weather
,peroonnal recall ~,iv .n. a trrtfar" for G-au ,N 44-906an its intaraded
route a 17 Novel er 1,1;,%* Abe t,eneral r tF a? t tuaticn for the eriud
at the f3, ht, i cated taut a cau-4te from ;i-1 to Al'l at c .oo4epriupi
aevala ho r was crxli)m4 f:dr f:t.i hts at alts udeaa at or above the
r UA. enraute altitude or fc,ct. be z?f'race weather charts por-
trayed. an occlWled front a ndue south etward f" a low uresr,?ure
area centered over < l7.in UP 3s 11 evades. t.ith the. frontal aeyste there
w&w an ezt a d, weather )a Lt tm with cones ,_,erabl t sr ,r to the r*o th.
r' 'si or wes r c ?t a?-t r "d "il c t res; cr tt i icates the a eteace
of "a kcr- hales" in tth Waken c+ . ;o rye>aortd at about th& tiI*; of
the accidezz w? a dE o'Joi;e ' : i , were ra . ? chw.,;, u; njo in
cloud t t Ice side of the r immta:a. o . l ce the pilot gu lled ilia
` c :t -aa. urc over Ao dep riA., boa e r, 't. c : r l c e red 3.3keiy that. he
. i
tried to :a+ ,d. ti ?I`Wtr h I uc1 a n w.maik, =4, to rind a .t' 11 fiU,;% a
en ulfed in clouas. iaow elowere were re. in We iestcn
area and aitnebaaee located , ubt t,:, sae east t arsaa bite m. ort cd
o:. trvind a frstL?-r a; .ias atmm t ?'l ;ill, ou a tieo ray teac .n t. uou, h it
brief break in We clmWa at a,.arr iraeece3y the tir* of the accident. it
would a: pear tat toad a ~t 7;.34 to wea`;hs::r brier been given to the
pilot, is all rr 41itcy a 1.-I zt j not wive been U led in-
vulvinzi a hw A, Xrom W yE ~ at u e ~ odeprir ?r, i evac a., homer.
lures of the ILL gt L)iun and "* not probable utter i.
route from thL agrin;s h e r ;uuticr tee that the aircraft t c :tve
dri:tsd o.0 course a:.dd./or U w piJ of beo c. riea t+ed. .n interview
with ze ; t , Lives of t? wF Le rt 'n and with Pilo i, of the
otter crow as-al Yed to the mite ,on revealed that tic route nor . ,r
f tw a;,;.cas,;; hhs o&t c f.: =e of .x 3prink, ?:vaatttain r; twge on a mzmtio
course of "out .:te ,ree . --a ed on the f J.jU 4" t airepeod of
175 knots and the actual ,rva a spy o1 225 knots betimn the Daggett
radio rte,; stab ;n aid, the o pr t honer, a tallwi d cx4xo nt of
knotee e d tede he 01W wi h aloft cshar.?ta 17 ov+e>.ier 1$5; indicated
a 35 kmt wind trou 2O deco at 100000 feet nr ma level '411*
b
A *,r winds cncoantexed axe attributed to ocolu. ed front w'c ioh I
a ten ; U x m eat fr Ourbank to , oodsprin ;s. Ca:Vut&Uq;3z for drift
correction to r e ,1_44 the vw, netic course o )3 de rva reveal an
1" der wi correction ale Wised as cr z uted winds c:)sp&4ed to a
nine der e wind cc rrction based on wine aloft cam. Co ri of
the most probable intended route a. 4.e most *^)bai f .i xt path
apprc .raa s tb : L 1 Lfer ence .,.u ,Io ,)mod win.. o ~r s cUan ar ;lee. Fret
the abovve, it is a are rra:,: to ran t.-at, the .cati.:1n taken by the air-
c:aft frc n , oodcpriL': s euul-ted in a trek to Lx mast of the mountain
r i;e arv was unknown t the pilot. It assab pro'vaa that the pilot
an ea unterin;::, lowering vi,c.bi.:i 1 and cei lfxa ;, to rd to the left to
fly away f r the i : Ier terrain, a ai, cuh cecu d tide aircraft to be flown
into the srm amt . it is aatcc pro ir3e tizast the oatiiz wad viai-
bi,li ty was ever; lour in the iarc .ate vic u it > op" tac? e a eta ln .
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP90B00184R000100110042-1
? ?
k4 Ar
*CAW inVO1--Vd in t :t ae
crash 1w ' 2400 tic and
ably aaw he: a r?c t,,, ic;;ate the Li
knot ve t of tl ; )u wind on t4w 400 or :xa
coui f oauut de ar th that wo t climb vwkAblUi
cn t. i ai{ h POWr t ? sind U ProbAW.11V of a i. &4am at
tta ck on iv : t.a i tre. an att t . s 3.ii a 4Gaw.Ml"*altt cow tkn.
v t win_ lisp ttia woad t ? in a climb en
r
igur t- a, ezoept as ' t z wrt for c1ear!W, an rta .
i. iz ' ;L
Or:i r . Avert trw
pr dur ? I w Cas as ttt
.A'; out
a :40 uif
fora 1tu k:; 4t -sc U
Kit rd .. sx .tcati
i; t1a n