| Status: | Final |
| Date: | Thursday 19 December 1946 |
| Time: | 18:07 |
| Type: |  Douglas C-54B-5-DO (DC-4) |
| Operator: | Eastern Air Lines |
| Registration: | NC88813 |
| MSN: | 18344 |
| First flight: | 1944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4174 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 56 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 60 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | near Aberdeen, MD ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Newark International Airport, NJ (EWR/KEWR), United States of America |
| Miami (unknown airport), FL, United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | EA605 |
Universal Flight 7, a Douglas DC-3, departed Newark at 17:07 on an instrument flight clearance, via Airway Amber 7, over Washington to Raleigh, at 2,000 feet. Fifteen minutes later, Eastern Flight 605, a Douglas DC-4, departed Newark on a contact clearance at 2,000 feet, via Airway Amber 7, over Washington to Miami, non-stop. The DC-4 overtook the DC-3 in the vicinity of Aberdeen, Maryland. The co-pilot of the Eastern DC-4 suddenly saw the lights of an aircraft close to and to the left of the DC-4 and immediately rolled the DC-4 into a bank to the right and pulled the nose up forcefully. The rear of the plane collided with the forward top portion of the DC-3's fuselage. The DC-3 pilots, thinking they had collided with a bird, carried out a safe landing at Phillips Army Air Field while the DC-4 diverted to Washington-National Airport.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the lack of vigilance on the part of the pilots of both aircraft."
Classification:
Mid air collisionNormal landing
Sources:
» CAB File No. 5019-46Photos
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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