National Airlines Flight 470 (1953)

National Airlines Flight 470 (1953)

National DC-6 similar to the one involved
Accident summary
Date	14 February 1953
Summary	Turbulence, in-flight breakup
Site	Gulf of Mexico, off Mobile Point, Alabama
Passengers	41
Crew	5
Fatalities	46 (all)
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-6
Operator	National Airlines
Registration	N90893
Flight origin	Miami International Airport
Stopover	Tampa International Airport
Destination	Moisant Field, New Orleans

National Airlines Flight 470 was a regularly scheduled flight between Tampa and New Orleans that crashed on 14 February 1953 after encountering severe turbulence. The crash marked the worst accident in the history of National Airlines, killing 46 (5 crew and 41 passengers), among them Billy DeBeck's widow.

Events

The Douglas DC-6, registered N90893, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 20 mi (32 km) off Mobile Point en route to New Orleans.^[1] The USCGC Blackthorn assisted in search and recovery operations.^[2][3][4][5] National Airlines did not maintain its own meteorology department, as was standard among airlines at the time, and its pilots were not informed of the strength of the storm into which they were flying.^[6]

References

1. "15 Bodies Found After DC6 Plunges Into Gulf Waters". AP. 1953-02-16.
2. Civil Aeronautic Board Accident Report
3. Accident report of National Airlines Flight 470 at the Aviation Safety Network
4. "Plane With 45 Aboard Lost". AP. 1953-02-14.
5. "Lightning May Have Caused DC6 Crash". Big Spring, TX. The Big Spring Daily Herald. 15 Feb 1953.
6. "Stiles v. National Airlines". LEAGLE. Retrieved 22 September 2014.