American Airlines Flight 63 (October 1943)
The Flagship Ohio was lost on the Louisville-Nashville leg of the flight, when the severe downdrafts of a nearby thunderstorm forced the DC-3 to crash into a field near Trammel, Kentucky.[1] Departure from Nashville proceeded normally, and the pilot radioed to air traffic control (ATC) that he had reached an altitude of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at 10:59 PM.[1] Eyewitnesses told reporters that the plane "circled desperately" in search of a safe landing place before plummeting into a deep gulch.[2] Local woodsmen observed the plane's landing attempts and later heard the crash, but were unable to summon help or report it due to the lack of telephones in the area.[2] The Civil Aeronautics Board investigated the crash and determined that ice that had formed on the propeller or wings made it impossible for the pilot to control the altitude of the aircraft.