Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-07-20
CAB Calls for Report
On DC-4 Trips Before
Maryland Disaster
BY the Associated Press

NEW YORK, July 19.-Eastern
Air Lines was requested today to
furnish the Civil Aeronautics Board
with a report "in complete detail on
all flights flown" during a stipulated
period by the DC-4 liner which
crashed with loss of So lives last
May 80 near cambridge, Md.
The request brought to q
temporary close a three-day hearing
held in an attempt to determine the
cause of the accident.
The request was made to Sidney
L. Shannon, vice president in
charge of EAL operations, by Robert
w. Chrisp, chief of the CAB hear
Ing and reports section and presid-
ing officer at the inquiry, after Mr..
Shannon said a record of pilots
complaints of vibration did not
show the whole story"
Vibration Reported.
The complaints. entered in the
planes log book, described vibration
OF the plane as from excessive" to
terrific" over a period from March
"a to April %. Corrective action
reported by company technicians
attributed the vibration to the nose
wheel.
Thirteen pilots reported vibra-
ton and IA pilots reported no vibra-
ton in their reports, indicating that
corrective action had been taken
and the thing was all right" Mr..
Shannon said.
g Too much significance has been
placed on the vibration of the nose
Wheel" Mr.. Shannon continued,
practically any nose wheel on any
airplane will cause some vibration. ="
Mr.. Chrisp requested Mr.. Shan
non to submit the more detailed re-
port to the CAB at Washington and
said earlier reports of vibration will
be removed from the records in
favor of the full report.
Quizzed About Compliance.
Earlier in the day, S. Van Meen-
sci, air carrier maintenance inspec-
tor for the Civil Aeronautics Ad-
ministrator, who submitted the rec
ord Of pilots complaints of vibration
was asked if he was having difficulty
in getting Eastern Air Lines to
comply with the regulations.
That's hard to answer" Mr.. Van
Meensel replied.
His interrogation, William K. An
dreWs, assistant chief of the CAB
accident investigation division, then
asked:
Il realize that, but what I mean
is. is there a tendency by Eastern
Air Lines to take short cuts?"
Inspection maintenance is per-
formed on these aircraft as fully as
possible considering the time they
are scheduled into their base" the
witness replied.
Tells Of Corrective Actions.
Ambrose L. Chabot, superintendent
OF maintenance for the airline, read
into the record a series of corrective
actions taken rs a result of the
pilots complaints of vibration, and
said that they had been reported to
the CAA.
He added that the record of COM
plants was characteristic of other
ships"
c. R. Strand, chief of the struc-
lures division of Douglas Aircraft
Co., manufacturers of the crashed
plane, told the board he had no
theory as to the cause of the acct
dent and that his company was still
investigating.
Eve will continue to use every IA
cility until we reach an understand
ing as to the cause of this crash,"
Mr.. Strand said.
Everett Chapman, an engineer for
the Aviation Underwriters Associa-
ton, who participated in the initial
investigation at the scene of the
crash, said he believed IAN early
failure" which led to the crash was
concerned with the right elevator of
the craft.
Results Of calculations and tests
on another DC-4 were submitted by
Richard B. Rhode, aeronautical en-
gineer for the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics. in an
effort to aid the CAB in arriving at
a finding.