Will Look Into Actions Of Airliner's Flight Crew

For almost 40 years, there have been questions... lots of questions... about a tragic 1967 midair collision between a Cessna 310 and a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727 over Hendersonville, NC. Those questions lingered even after the NTSB ruled that the 310 wandered into the flight path of the 727.

Well, after years of prodding from families of those aboard the Cessna -- along with an amateur historian who has thoroughly researched the accident -- the NTSB has agreed to reopen the case, and reexamine its findings.

Aero-News first reported on amateur historian Paul Houle's efforts to get the case reopened last December. He lives a few miles from the North Carolina crash site, and has been pondering the mishap for years.

After a 14-month investigation, the NTSB originally ruled the accident was likely caused by John David Addison, the C310's pilot. The NTSB ruled that Addison had deviated from his IFR flightplan, and into the path of the speeding jet.

But Houle found evidence that it was the 727 which strayed from its cleared route -- and that the flight crew was distracted by an ashtray fire on the flight deck just seconds before impact. Furthermore, Houle discovered the NTSB's lead investigator on the case was the brother of a Piedmont vice president -- both of whom have since passed away.

Despite the NTSB's general policy of accepting requests to reopen cases only from "parties to the investigation or hearing" or those with a "direct interest," the board's acting chairman, Mark V. Rosenker, agreed to Houle's request.

"...Although the regulations do not define 'persons having a direct interest,' this language was not meant to include independent researchers who have no other connection to an accident," Rosenker wrote, according to the Springfield (MO) News-Leader.

For Grace Addison, the inquiry means her brother-in-law's name may finally be cleared.

"I've always thought there was a lot about that investigation that wasn't correct and that it needed to be looked at again," said Addison. "I'm glad it's finally going to happen."

FMI: Read The Original Probable Cause Report