24 DIE IN CRASH

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29068, 3 December 1959, Page 8

24 DIE IN CRASH

Aircraft Hits Mountain (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) MONTOURSVILLE (Pennsylvania), Dec. 1. A passenger aeroplane crashed into a 1400 ft mountain today while attempting to make an instrument landing in a snowstorm. Three of the 25 people aboard were found alive, but two died before reaching hospital. The lone survivor, Louis Matarazzo, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, is reported in a serious condition. The twin-engine Allegheny Airlines aeroplane, a Martin 202, was on its way from Philadelphia to Cleveland. It was cleared for a landing at the Montoursville - Williamsport airport at 9.41 a.m. local time. A few minutes later it broke through the snow and mist hanging over the airstrip. “The aeroplane came in perpendicular to the mountains," said an eyewitness, Mr Tom Schadt. “It circled around, and then disappeared into the mist and snow.”

The aeroplane headed directly toward the nearby mountains in this central Pennsylvania area, Mr Schadt said, American Associated Press reported. “I heard the pilot gun his motors. A second or two later there was a gigantic crash.”

The crash was the tenth involving United States commercial airliners this year. The 24 killed here raised the total in such accidents to 286 in 1959.

An Air Force helicopter rescue team first spotted the wreckage, about midway up on 1400 ft Bald Eagle Mountain in rugged terrain. “It’s a complete charred wreckage,” the pilot radioed, “except for the tail section, which is intact." The tone survivor was found, still strapped to his seat, in a tree.

The aeroplane carried a crew of three. All died in the crash. The continuing snowstorm made rescue work difficult. About an inch was on the ground when the aeroplane crashed, and at one time the snow was so heavy the rescue helicopters had to be grounded. Allegheny Airlines in the last two years has won national awards for safe operations. It had carried passengers since 1949 without a fatal accident.