by H. Branch, O. Ryan, G. G. Mason, Jr., and G. P. Baker for the Civil Aeronautics Board

“ There is the alternative of zoning, which is the simplest solution, avoiding separate dealings with a multitude of property holders, and therefore the most satisfactory way that can be adopted, but little has been done with that. Only nine States, all of them east of the Mississippi have airport zoning status of any kind; through to be sure some others appear able to act under a general power extending to all public purposes. ”

“ Most airports are left with no protection whatever for their approaches.
"About half of the States here adopted laws giving cities or counties the right to purchase land and if necessary to acquire it by condemnation for airport purposes, either for original establishment or for later improvement and enlargement, and also to use either negotiations or condemnation in requiring rights in the air space surrounding the airport as an assurance against its invasion by obstructions. ”

“ The Administrator at the present time has no power to require the marking of obstructions, except indirectly through his exercise of the power to restrict air carrier operations into an airport. The City of St. Louis owns and operates the Municipal Airport but the land on which these trees stand is privately owned. ”

“ It was evident that no ice formed on the airplane during the flight from Kansas City. First Officer DioGuardi stated that he recorded outside air temperatures of 25 to 26 degrees at cruising levels and outside temperatures recorded on descent after passing New Florence were 32 degrees at 6,000 feet to 25 degrees at 3,000 feet. He said no ice formed on the airplane during cruising flight, descent, or in making the final approach at St. Louis. ”

“ Louis Airport and was well aware of all obstructions in the immediate vicinity. Nevertheless, Captain Scott flew the airplane at an altitude too low to clear the trees.
The first tree struck by the airplane as it was circling the field in order to land on No. 6 runway extended three feet into a 20 to 1 glide path to one of the other runways, No. 4. Since there does not appear to be any excusable reason for Pilot Scott's circling the field toward runway No. 6 at such a low altitude, the failure to place an obstruction light on this tree cannot be held to be a cause of the accident. ”

“ The flight plan for Trip 6 from Kansas City to New York, which had been prepared by First Officer DioGuardi under the supervision of Captain Scott and approved by the TWA flight superintendent on duty at Kansas City, provided for intermediate stops at St. Louis, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to the filing of this flight plan, Captain Scott conferred with the company meteorologist and flight superintendent and after discussing weather conditions over the route to be flown, he prepared a further analysis for the flight. ”

“ The red (left wing) , green (right wing) and white (tail) navigation lights were clearly visible but the airplane's landing
↑ The basic responsibility of Airway Traffic Control is to prevent collisions between aircraft operating under instrument conditions. They have no further responsibility for the safety of the flight. Decisions on whether a flight is advisable or may be made with safety under existing weather conditions are the responsibility of the pilot and the air carrier dispatcher. ”

“ First Officer DioGuardi estimated that at the time the airplane broke out of the overcast its altitude was approximately 300 feet above the ground. Captain Scott, upon discovering that the overcast extended below the approved minimum altitude of 400 feet, had a clear duty to apply power and proceed to his alternate airport instead of continuing with his landing approach.
It is reasonable to believe that Captain Scott first intended to land on the No. 1 runway but that, after breaking out of the overcast at a point too close to the airport and too high to effect a normal landing on No. ”

“ All of the evidence indicates that considerable power was being developed from each engine at the time it struck some of the trees, but does not indicate that any appreciable amount of power was being used at the time the engine struck the ground. ”

“ The weather minimums for TWA at Lambert-St. Louis airport were on the date of the accident a 400-foot ceiling and one mile visibility. ↑ The cockpit clock was not changed from Mountain Time by the new crew that took over at Kansas City. ↑ The red neon approach lights extend in a straight line approximately 1,500 feet east of the eastern boundary of the airport. These lights assist the pilot in lining up for a landing on No. 1 runway. ↑ See sketch of Lambert-St. Louis Airport on opposite page showing the probable flight path of airplane. (Figure A)
lights were off. ”

“ According to the testimony of First Officer DioGuardi, the flight proceeded normally, making a radio position report over Higginsville (47 miles from Kansas City) at 7,000 feet on instruments at 3:01 a.m. As the flight progressed toward St. Louis a radio position report was made over Columbia Missouri, (118 miles from Kansas City) at 3:25 a.m., while flying between layers of clouds, and the flight remained between layers of clouds until it passed over New Florence, Missouri, (49 miles from St. Louis) at 3:42 a.m. When Trip 6 reported over New Florence, the TWA operator at St. ”