Eastern Air Lines Flight 537

Date: November 1, 1949
Summary: Mid-air collision
Site: Alexandria, Virginia, United States
38°50.1′N 77°02.7′W
Total fatalities: 55
Total injuries: 1
Total survivors: 1

First aircraft



An Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-4, similar to the one involved in the crash

Type: Douglas DC-4
Operator: Eastern Air Lines
Registration: N88727
Flight origin: LaGuardia Airport, Queens, New York
Destination: Washington-National Airport, DC
Occupants: 55
Passengers: 51
Crew: 4
Fatalities: 55
Survivors: 0

Second aircraft



A Lockheed P-38J Lightning, the type involved in the crash

Type: Lockheed P-38L Lightning
Operator: Lockheed
Registration: NX-26927
Occupants: 1
Crew: 1
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 1
Survivors: 1

Eastern Air Lines Flight 537, registration N88727, was a Douglas DC-4 aircraft en route from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. via intermediate points on November 1, 1949. NX-26927 was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning being test-flown for acceptance by the Government of Bolivia by Erick Rios Bridoux of the Bolivian Air Force. The two aircraft collided in mid-air at an altitude of 300 feet about half a mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3 at Washington National Airport, killing all 55 aboard the DC-4 and seriously injuring the pilot of the P-38. At the time it was the deadliest airliner incident in United States history.

The tower controllers on duty that day at National testified that the P-38 had taken off on Runway 3, turned left north of The Pentagon, circled over Arlington, then returned, requesting permission to land due to engine trouble. The controller cleared the aircraft to join the left traffic pattern, but instead it flew south of the airport and entered a long straight-in approach at the same time Flight 537 was turning onto a shorter final. The controller then called Flight 537 ordering it to turn left; it began the turn, but by then the P-38, being considerably faster than a DC-4 on final, overtook the aircraft 1/2 mile southwest of the threshold of Runway 3.

The DC-4 was cut in half by the left propeller of the P-38 just forward of the trailing edge of the wing. The aft portion of the DC-4 fell to the ground on the west bank of the Potomac River; other pieces were located in Alexandria, Virginia at the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Potomac Yard and on a highway passing near the Yard. The fore portion of the aircraft fell into the river, as did the P-38.

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