Paradise Airlines Flight 901A

On March 1, 1964, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation serving the flight crashed near Genoa Peak, on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe during a heavy snowstorm, killing all 85 aboard.Crash investigators concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the pilot's decision to attempt to land at Tahoe Valley Airport when the visibility was too low due to clouds and snowstorms in the area.After aborting the landing attempt, the flight crew lost awareness of the plane's location as it flew below the minimum safe altitude in mountainous terrain.The airline involved was a two-year-old company that operated discount excursion flights from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe.That crew said that they had encountered icing conditions at 12,000 feet (3,700 m), that there were snow showers over Lake Tahoe, and that clouds had obscured the tops of mountains in the vicinity.[5]: 5  According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for the airport, the weather report had to have a minimum ceiling of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and 10 miles (16 km) visibility before a commercial passenger aircraft could attempt an approach, so the incoming flight could not be given permission to land.Two small boats searched along a ten-mile (16 km) stretch of the lake's shore, but by nightfall, the searchers had found no trace of the missing aircraft.[6] Rescuers estimated that because of the rugged terrain and the deep snow, it would take several days or possibly even months until after the spring thaw before all the victims could be recovered.[2] The first seven were brought to a makeshift morgue in the CVIC Hall in Minden, Nevada, on March 3, two days after the crash, where technicians from the Federal Bureau of Investigation began the process of identification.[14] An additional 43 victims were brought the next day, with officials hurrying to recover bodies before an incoming snowstorm buried them in the snow, making them even harder to locate.The suspension order said that the airline had shown "a lack of ability and qualifications to conduct a safe intrastate common carrier passenger operation".He was not very fluent with the English language, and in response to questioning by the FAA, was unable to provide explanations of crucial weather terms that appeared in that day's forecast.[31] He testified that he had used his own judgment and predicted that weather conditions at Tahoe Airport would be safe enough for the flight to land by the time it arrived.[34] Another FAA investigator testified that Paradise Airlines had violated civil air regulations several times in the three months before the accident, mostly involving weather conditions.[36] Paradise Airlines president Herman Jones called the hearings "a great miscarriage of justice" and vowed to keep the company's planes flying, with or without an air operator's certificate.[37] FAA representatives countered that if the company attempted to fly without a certificate, the United States Marshals Service would seize the aircraft involved.[5]: 25  According to the FAA, the type of aircraft was well suited for operation in high-altitude, mountainous airports like Lake Tahoe, due to its relatively slow speed and high maneuverability.A salvage operator began removing the rest of the plane, taking the pieces to a warehouse at Reid–Hillview Airport near San Jose and storing them there in case they were needed by CAB investigators.[44][5]: 9  Testimony from the Tahoe Airport's weather observer repeated some of what was said during the appeal of the FAA's suspension of Paradise Airlines' operating certificate.In the hearing, the CAB interviewer hinted that the financial arrangements gave an incentive to pilots to avoid diversions due to bad weather because they would not be paid for their additional time.This resulted in an abandoned approach and geographical disorientation while flying below the minimum altitude prescribed for operations in mountainous areas.The CAB report stated that maintenance had been performed on both altimeters and the No.[5]: 10  The captain's altimeter that was recovered from the wreckage showed a pre-impact discrepancy that would have indicated the aircraft was flying 280 feet (85 m) higher than its true altitude.[5]: 18 Weather reports that were available to the company dispatcher included warnings of icing conditions in the Tahoe Airport area and that clouds and snow showers would be obscuring the mountains in western Nevada.
Photo of a large lake surrounded by mountains under heavy cloud cover
Cloudy skies over Lake Tahoe showing the high mountains around the lake acting as a barrier in overcast conditions
Map of the plane's path, moving southeast and then turning to the right before impacting the mountain
A map of the incident, showing Flight 901A's flight path
Aerial photo showing a mountain lake surrounded by mountains with a low gap in the foreground
A 2015 aerial view of Lake Tahoe from the east, with Daggett Pass in the foreground
Diagram of an inflatable de-icing boot showing its appearance when inflated and deflated.
Close-up of the leading edge of the wing of an aircraft with inflatable de-icing boots. When the system is inflated, the inflating boots will cause any ice that has accumulated to crack and be blown off by the air flow over the wing. [ 24 ]
Diagram showing the shape of an aircraft from the front, top, and side
Lockheed L-049 Constellation model
Lockheed ConstellationPilot errorNevadaLake TahoeLockheed L-049 ConstellationParadise AirlinesRegistrationOakland International AirportSalinas AirportSan Jose AirportTahoe Valley AirportSan Jose Municipal AirportGenoa Peakminimum safe altitudeReno, NevadaUnited StatesSan Francisco Bay AreaFederal Aviation Administrationoperating certificateU.S. Weather Bureauicing conditionsair route traffic control centervisual approachceilingvisibilityGenoa Peak, NevadaDaggett Passintrastate airlineAmerican Airlines Flight 1Air ForceDouglas CountyCivil Aeronautics Boardnose gearCVIC HallMinden, NevadaFederal Bureau of Investigationde-icing equipmentminus signair operator's certificateUnited States Marshals Servicetail numberWright R-3350 Duplex-CycloneLas VegasTrans World AirlinesSalinasSan JoseMontereycaptainAir Transport CommandModern Air TransportWorld AirwaysAlaska AirlinesAlameda, Californiafirst officerSan FranciscoPan American AirwaysFlying Tiger Lineflight engineerFremont, CaliforniaSeattlecockpit voice recorderHayward, CaliforniaReid–Hillview Airportprobable causedirectional instrumentsrime icealtimetersfluxgate compasssnow squalltail windsMcCusker, J. J.American Antiquarian SocietyLockheedConstellation familyL-1049L-1149L-1249L-1449L-1549L-1649Constellation (I)Constellation (II)Constellation (III)SpeedfreighterStarlinerSuper Constellation (I)Super Constellation (II)EC-121R7O/R7VAccidents and incidentsTWA Flight 513TWA Flight 6963Pan Am Flight 121Pan Am Flight 1-10Air France Flight 009TWA Flight 903Air India Flight 245Pan Am Flight 151Air France Flight 152Air France Flight 178KLM Flight 633Air India Flight 300El Al Flight 402LAV Flight 253 (June 1956)TWA Flight 2LAV Flight 253 (November 1956)KLM Flight 844KLM Flight 607-ELufthansa Flight 502TWA Flight 891Avianca Flight 671Air France Flight 343TWA Flight 266Air France Flight 406TWA Flight 529IA Flight 201/8FTL Flight 739EAL Flight 853LANSA Flight 501Avion PirataColumbine IIKashmir PrincessOperatorsVariantsAviation accidents and incidentsSavage Mountain B-52 crashT-39 shootdownEastern Air Lines Flight 304British Eagle International Airlines Flight 802/6Machida F-8 crashMiddle East Airlines Flight 444Pacific Air Lines Flight 773Philippine Air Lines Flight F26Civil Air Transport Flight 106United Air Lines Flight 823Aeroflot Flight 721VASP Flight 141Mt. Alcazaba UTA Douglas DC-6 crashBonanza Air Lines Flight 114Linjeflyg Flight 267VTWA Flight 800Flying Tiger Line Flight 282National Airlines Flight 2511Capital Airlines Flight 20Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698World Airways Flight 830Eastern Air Lines Flight 375Cal Poly football teamNew York mid-air collisionGoldsboro B-52 crashAmerican Airlines Flight 1502Yuba City B-52 crashUnited Air Lines Flight 859Alaska Airlines Flight 779Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8Cincinnati Zantop DC-4 crashContinental Airlines Flight 11Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301United Air Lines Flight 297Eastern Air Lines Flight 512Elephant Mountain B-52Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705Camden PA-24Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293Mohawk Airlines Flight 112Pan Am Flight 214USAF KC-135 WichitaEastern Air Lines Flight 663Pan Am Flight 843Continental Airlines Flight 12Allegheny Airlines Flight 604United Air Lines Flight 389American Airlines Flight 383United Air Lines Flight 227Carmel mid-air collisionNASA T-38 crashAmerican Flyers Airline Flight 280/DBraniff International Airways Flight 250West Coast Airlines Flight 956Lake Central Airlines Flight 527TWA Flight 553West Coast Airlines Flight 720Delta Air Lines Flight 9877Mohawk Airlines Flight 40Piedmont Airlines Flight 22Lake Erie skydiving disasterTWA Flight 159X-15 Flight 3-65-97TWA Flight 128Ozark Air Lines Flight 965Braniff International Airways Flight 352Los Angeles Airways Flight 841Los Angeles Airways Flight 417Northeast Airlines Flight 946Japan Air Lines Flight 2Pan Am Flight 281Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55Allegheny Airlines Flight 736Pan Am Flight 799Ozark Air Lines Flight 982North Central Airlines Flight 458Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933United Air Lines Flight 266Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Prinair Flight 277Delta Air Lines Flight 821TWA Flight 5787Newton Cessna 172 crashAllegheny Airlines Flight 853Mohawk Airlines Flight 411