Western Air Express - Pinetos Peak crash.html



On January 12 1937 at 11:37 a Western Air Express twin engined Boeing 247B (NC13315), crashed into Pinetos Peak northeast of San Fernando, near Saugus, Newhall, California. Western Air Express flight No 7 was en route from Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California. It had a crew of 3 plus 10 passengers. There were 5 fatalities (4 passengers and 1 crew member).¹²

Details

The Boeing 247B was on approach to Union Air Terminal at Burbank in heavy rain and fog. On spotting the ridge, the pilot William L. Lewis cut the engine and "pancaked" onto the hillside to reduce the force of the impact.²

One passenger died immediately and three more plus the co-pilot, C. T. Owens, died within a week. Martin Johnson, the international adventurer and filmmaker, died the next day in hospital of a fractured skull. His wife Osa suffered back and neck injuries but continued with the couple’s lecture circuit despite being confined to a wheelchair.²³

Among the survivors were Arthur Robinson, a 25-year-old passenger who managed to hike five miles down the mountainside where he met rescuers from the Olive View Sanitorium who were searching for the accident site, and Robert Andersen who recovered from numerous broken bones and became owner-operator of “Pea Soup Andersen’s,” a dining establishment in Buellton, north of Santa Barbara².

Conclusion

The cause was attributed to the adverse weather conditions, coupled with the pilot’s decision to descend to a dangerously low altitude without positive knowledge of his position.²

References

See also

• Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
• Air safety