On This Day In 1945 National Airlines Flight 16 Crashed In Florida

Exactly 77 years ago today, National Airlines Flight 16 made a fatal error while attempting to land at Lakeland Municipal Airport (LAL), killing two of its 12 passengers. The aircraft involved in the incident was a three-year-old Lockheed 18-50 Lodestar registered as NC18199.

Manufactured for the US Army Air Corp and owned by the Defense Plant Corporation, National Airlines leased the plane for short-haul domestic flights in the southeastern United States. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had 1,798 flying hours. Developed from Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, the Loadstar was first introduced as a military passenger/cargo plane in 1940 as the United States bolstered its military before entering World War Two on December 7, 1941.

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The flight was between Miami and Lakeland, Florida

National Airlines Flight 16 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Lakeland Municipal Airport (LAL), with stops in Fort Myers and Tampa. In charge of the flight was Captain William Merrill Corry, who had a total of 4,800 flight hours, of which 851 were on the Lockheed Lodestar. Assisting Captain Corry was First Officer Conrad, who had 5,427 flight hours, of which 409 were on the Lodestar.

The aircraft departed late from Miami

The aircraft departed National Airline's main operating base in Miami at 21:12, one hour and fifteen minutes late due to delays accumulated during earlier flights. Everything went smoothly on its first leg to Fort Myers and then up the west coast of Florida to Tampa. On the final leg of its journey to Lakeland, the weather was good, with scattered clouds and nine-mile visibility. When the plane was seven miles out, the pilots could see the runway and began what was supposed to be a straight-in descent.

The route map of National Airlines Flight 16. Image: GCmaps

Progressing normally, the plane suddenly entered a cloud at an altitude of 600 feet, prompting Captain Corry to retract the landing gear and attempt a go-around. Witnesses on the ground watching the plane land reported seeing it flying just above the runway at around 30 to 40 feet before overshooting the landing and ending up in Lake Parker 1,000 feet from the end of the runway. The aircraft skipped across the water for a further 1,000 feet before sinking in ten feet of water.

Of the three crew members (one flight attendant) and 12 passengers, two of the passengers could not swim from the wreckage and ended up drowning. All the others were rescued by locals who had rushed to the scene.

The investigation into the crash of National Airlines Flight 16

In charge of the investigation into the crash was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), who examined the wreckage and concluded that there were no mechanical issues to blame. The initial findings were that the plane had performed a belly flop on the lake before sinking.

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The Lodestar was developed from the Lockheed Super Electra.Photo: Onbekend via Wikimedia Commons.

When conducting interviews with the crew and other National Airlines captains, the CAB noted that many were unfamiliar with the Lockheed Lodestar's limitations. The training on the aircraft of pilots flying the Lodestar by National Airlines was also determined to not be of an acceptable standard.

Because Captain Corry had limited knowledge of flying the Lodestar, he had waited too long to perform the go-around. The CAB also noted that Captain Corry had other options available and determined that the crash was entirely due to pilot error.