National Airlines Flight 16
The aircraft was piloted by Captain William Merrill Corry, an employee of National Airlines since November 1943.[2] The aircraft, a Lockheed 18-50 Lodestar, departed Miami at 9:12 p.m. on October 4, 1945, 1 hour, 15 minutes behind schedule due to delays in previous flights.[2] Civil Aeronautics Board investigators examined the wreckage and determined that there had been no malfunction or failure of aircraft equipment.[2] The Civil Aeronautics Board determined that: Testimony of the flight personnel and the results of pilot check flights conducted by the CAB and company check pilots subsequent to the hearing revealed a definite lack of familiarity of some National Airlines' captains with the operating limitation of the Lodestar.The company training program and training facilities were inadequate for the maintenance of sufficient competency of pilot personnel with respect to the Lockheed 18-50.Because of the captain's unfamiliarity with the aircraft specifications, he waited too long to commit himself to the go-around procedure, dooming the aircraft as immediate action was necessary.