A tragic mid-air collision in Washington D.C. this week is eerily similar to a previous crash in the same location that happened a little over 75 years ago, in November of 1949.
“There was a prior accident at Washington National (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) 75 years ago almost identical to what happened last night,” Edward Booth, an aviation attorney told NewsNation. He was referring to the crash of Eastern Airlines 537 and A Bolivian Air Force Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter identified as NX26927.
This week, the mid-air crash between an American Airlines regional jet and a military helicopter caused the deaths of of 67 people. Victims from the jet included 64 people, including top figure skaters from the U.S. and Russia, and three soldiers on the helicopter, per CBS News. Emergency responders and investigators have been on the Potomac River where the planes crashed this Wednesday. As of Friday afternoon, they had recovered the remains of 41 victims from the crash. An investigation of the incident will be carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to a 1950 Accident Investigation Report from the Civil Aeronautics Board provided by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 55 occupants, “including two babies in arms” and the flight crew of Eastern flight 537, a Douglas DC-4 plane, died in the 1949 crash. While the pilot of the P-38 survived, both aircraft were completely destroyed.
The investigation report said the P-38 pilot, Erick Rios Bridoux, was a Bolivian national “flying for acceptance by the Bolivian government.” A Time magazine archival story called him “Bolivia’s most famous airman.”
After taking off from the D.C. airport, the pilot realized that the right-hand engine of the plane was acting erratically and decided to land as soon as possible.
At that point, testimony from the control tower and testimony from the pilot appears to be in conflict. Rios said he contacted the tower asking for landing instructions. While the tower provided instructions, the tower staff said they did not receive confirmation from Rios. Meanwhile, the pilot said the tower did not warn him of the Eastern DC-4.
Right before the crash, Rios said tower said “clear to the left,” but he didn’t know who it was intended for – then he felt the shock of collision. Per the incident report, Rios was apparently confused as to his location and said that he did not fly by using landmarks.
“I do not take care of the small details on the ground,” he said, according to the report.
Ultimately, the report determined that it was conceivable that Rios did not receive some of the tower’s instructions.
“If Rios had been calling the tower at the same time the tower was attempting to give him instructions, neither the tower nor Rios would have received the intended messages, since the transmission and reception of any one particular radio frequency cannot be effected simultaneously,” the report said.
However, the report noted that a landing approach should not have been attempted until clearance to land was received. It listed “not gaining proper clearance” as the probable cause of the accident, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
USA Today reported that there have been other crashes near Reagan National (also known as DCA). These include the Jan. 13, 1982, crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into the 14th Street Bridge, causing it to sink in the river shortly after takeoff and kill more than 80 people.
“In that case, authorities blamed a winter storm for lowering visibility and causing ice to accumulate on the 737’s wings, hampering its ability to climb,” USA Today said.