ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-3A N17891 Berlin Airport, NH (BML)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Tuesday 30 November 1954
Time:11:15
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas DC-3A
Operator:Northeast Airlines
Registration: N17891
MSN: 11745
First flight: 1943
Total airframe hrs:26000
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Total:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:21 km (13.1 mls) SE of Berlin Airport, NH (BML) (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Laconia Municipal Airport, NH (LCI/KLCI), United States of America
Destination airport:Berlin Airport, NH (BML/KBML), United States of America
Flightnumber: 792
Narrative:
Northeast Airlines Flight 792 originated at Boston, Massachusetts, for Berlin, New Hampshire, with stops at Concord and Laconia, New Hampshire.
Departure from Laconia was on schedule at 10:39. The IFR flight proceeded at a cruising altitude of 8000 feet towards Berlin.
At 11:03 the flight called the company station at the Berlin Airport and asked for local weather. The station agent immediately gave the 10:45 observation: Estimated 3,000 feet overcast; visibility 2-1/2 miles; light snow showers. The agent then made a special weather observation at 11:10 which added scattered clouds at 2,300 feet to the previous weather information. Airport minimums at Berlin were a 2,300 ft ceiling and 2 miles visibility. This information was acknowledged by the crew.
Meanwhile the flight was descending to get beneath the overcast for a straight-in approach. The captain was able to recognize visual references on the ground until the moment the flight entered overcast. The airplane impacted the snow-covered southern slope of Mount Success, 100 feet below the top, at an elevation of
3,440 feet.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "A pre-mature and unauthorized instrument descent to an altitude that did not permit terrain clearance.."

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: CAB
Status: Investigation completed
Accident number: final report
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest, Circular 47-AN/42 (180-184)


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Laconia Municipal Airport, NH to Berlin Airport, NH as the crow flies is 112 km (70 miles).

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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