American Airlines Flight 28

American Airlines Flight 28 was served by a Douglas DC-3, registration NC16017, powered by two Wright Cyclone engines and full-feathering propellers. It had been approved and certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), and was rated to carry a maximum of twenty-one passengers and four crew. It was piloted by Captain Charles Fred Pedley, 42, who had flown for twelve years with American Airlines, and who had logged over 17,000 hours of flight time. The co-pilot was First Officer Louis Frederick Reppert, Jr., a 26-year-old pilot with 800 hours of flight time and six months' employment by the airline. The third crewmember was stewardess Estelle Frances Regan, age 27. was manufactured by the Lockheed Air Corporation and operated by the United States Army Air Forces. It was piloted by Lieutenant William Norman Wilson, 25, attached to the Air Transport Command and stationed at Long Beach, California. His copilot was Staff Sergeant Robert Reed Leicht, also 25, of the Sixth Ferrying Command, Army Air Forces, and also stationed at Long Beach. == Flight and crash ==

Flight 28 departed from the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California, at 4:36 p.m. PDT (UTC−7) on October 23, 1942. At 5:02 p.m., Captain Pedley reported his position over Riverside and estimated his arrival over Indio at 5:22 p.m. and . At 4:26 p.m., the B-34 bomber departed from Long Beach en route to Palm Springs. Lieutenant Wilson proceeded to Riverside, circled twice near March Field, and continued toward the San Gorgonio Pass. At approximately 5:15 p.m., at an altitude of approximately , Flight 28 was struck by the B-34. The DC-3 lost its rudder to the propeller from the B-34's right engine, along with portions of its tail. It fell from the sky in a flat spin and impacted a rocky ledge in Chino Canyon, below San Jacinto Peak, before crashing into the desert and exploding. Lieutenant Wilson later testified at his court-martial proceedings that he first realized that the two aircraft had collided when he heard a "noise and a wrenching of my ship up... to my left." He also testified that he noticed that his aircraft handled sluggishly and the right engine felt "rough". He was informed by his copilot that they had hit the airliner. The B-34 called the Palm Springs tower to notify them of the accident and then subsequently landed at Army Airport in Palm Springs. The Burbank operator at the company station reported that he had picked up a message from Flight 28 at exactly 5:15 p.m., saying: "Flight 28 from Burbank... correction Burbank from Flight 28..." The radio operator was only able to distinguish the flight calling Burbank, and though he attempted to respond he received no answer from Flight 28. He then directed the message to the American Airlines Flight Superintendent at Burbank. The CAB determined that, as Flight 28 crashed at 5:15 p.m., it was possible that the pilots were attempting to report the collision. == Investigation ==

Three separate investigations into the accident occurred: a coroner's inquest, a military investigation and court martial, and the official congressional investigation of the CAB. Each of the three investigations was independent of the others. The coroner's inquest was the first investigation to be completed, occurring shortly after the crash. Its purpose was not to decide absolute culpability, but rather to determine exactly the manner of death of the involved individuals. During the inquest, both surviving Army pilots testified that they had seen the airliner, but that they had subsequently lost sight of it when their aircraft flew into smoke from a nearby forest fire. CAB investigators arrived at the scene of the crash at midnight of October 23. The remnants of the aircraft were placed under military guard for the duration of the investigation. == See also ==