Adopted June 5, 1942

File No. 224-42

REPORT OF TEE CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD

of the

Investigation of an Accident Involving Aircraft in Scheduled Air Carrier Operation

An accident occurred at Municipal Airport, Memphis, Tennessee at about 11 10 p.m. February 24, 1942 in which a Douglas model DC-3A airplane received minor damage. Its crew of two and six passengers received no injury. The crew included Captain Claude McCoy Sterling and Co-pilot Howard B. Reid, both of whom were properly certificated and appropriately rated. The airplane, NC 19977, was owned by Chicago and Southern Air Lines, Inc.

The plane, operating as Chicago end Southern’s Flight 4 of February 24, had reached Memphis and had landed without incident. The right windshield had some light ice or frost on at picked up in the overcast cut the hot air blower had kept the left windshield clear for landing. While taxying slowly on the ramp toward the terminal building, the landing lights disclosed military planes parked on the ramp to the left of Flight 4’s path. To avoid any possibility of colliding with these planes, Captain Sterling taxied nearer to the right-hand edge of the ramp. Suddenly First Officer Reid shouted a warning and an instant later the right wing tip of slowly-moving Flight 4 struck the nose of a military plane parked at the right side of the ramp.

Flight 4 was in the traffic lane when the collision occurred. The military planes were parked without warning lights and the crew of Flight 4 had net been warned by the control tower of their presence.

PROBABLE CAUSE

Action of ground personnel in parking airplanes without marker lights in the path of normal traffic.

CONTRIBUTING FACTOR

Poor visibility due to ice and moisture on windshield

BY THE BOARD

/s/ Deran Charles Brown

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Secretary