National Airlines Flight 101

National Airlines Flight 101 was a scheduled flight from Newark Airport, New Jersey, to Miami, Florida, that on February 11, 1952 crashed in the town of Elizabeth, New Jersey, shortly after take-off.[1] It was the third plane crash occurring in Elizabeth in less than two months, following the loss of a Miami Airlines C-46 in December and the crash of an American Airlines Convair 240, three weeks earlier.

National Airlines Flight 101
A National Airlines DC-6 similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
DateFebruary 11, 1952 (1952-02-11)
SummaryCrashed shortly after take-off due to Propeller failure; pilot error
SiteElizabeth, New Jersey, United States
40.679369°N 74.218083°W / 40.679369; -74.218083
Total fatalities33
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDouglas DC-6
OperatorNational Airlines
RegistrationN90891
Flight originNewark Airport, New Jersey
DestinationMiami, Florida
Occupants63
Passengers59
Crew4
Fatalities29
Injuries34
Survivors34
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities4

Crash

The aircraft, a four-engined, propeller-driven Douglas DC-6, had departed from Newark Airport's runway 24 at 00:18 EST and was observed by personnel in the control tower suddenly losing altitude, while veering to the right. Two minutes later, the plane clipped an apartment building in Elizabeth, setting it on fire; it then crashed to the ground and burst into flames, narrowly missing an orphanage.[2]

Of the 63 people on board (59 passengers and 4 crew members), 29 perished, while most of the survivors were injured, many seriously. Four residents in the apartment building were also killed. Among the passengers was actress Mildred Joanne Smith, who suffered severe injuries, including a broken back.

Aftermath

The official investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that a failure in the propeller governor of engine No. 3 caused the propeller to go into reverse during climb-out. The engine was left running at high power, while engine No. 4 was mistakenly feathered. Under such conditions, the aircraft was no longer able to maintain altitude and descended into the ground.[2]

In the wake of this third accident in Elizabeth, mounting public concern led to a lengthy closure of Newark Airport and to a nationwide review of the safety of airport operations. The airport reopened only nine months later, on November 15, 1952, after the investigations into the crashes determined that the airport facilities were not at fault.[3]

The three crashes later provided the inspiration to writer and Elizabeth resident Judy Blume for her 2015 novel In the Unlikely Event.[4]

gollark: They mostly do.
gollark: Look, if you have a CB prize, you basically get infinite money - er, eggs.
gollark: Ah, Irabane, they offered it.
gollark: I-something?
gollark: You can have it for just 5 CB Golds!

References
  1. "Douglas DC-6 N90891 Newark International Airport, NJ". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  2. Nyrop; Ryan; Adams; Gurney (May 16, 1952). National Airlines Inc, Elizabeth, New Jersey, February 11,1952. Civil Aeronautics Board. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  3. "Crash From The Past". NJ Today. CMD Media. December 16, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  4. Hyman, Vicki (December 15, 2014). "Judy Blume's upcoming adult novel tackles real-life plane crashes in 1950s Elizabeth". NJ.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
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