A Harmless Prank

A long-ago incident nearly takes down an American Airlines Douglas DC-4.

Peter Garrison

Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 05:20 PM ET

Verified

[Credit: Public Domain]

Key Takeaways:

In 1947, American Airlines Flight 311, a Douglas DC-4, experienced a sudden and violent pitch downward, causing it to perform a half outside loop and fly inverted just hundreds of feet above the ground.
The bizarre incident was later revealed to be caused by Captain Charles Sisto, who, as a prank, engaged the elevator gust lock and then released it while the aircraft had been trimmed for a dive.
Despite the extreme maneuver, Captain Melvin Logan successfully recovered the aircraft and landed it safely, largely aided by the fortuitous accidental feathering of three engines, resulting in no serious injuries or fatalities among the 49 passengers and 6 crew.
Captain Sisto's commercial pilot certificate was subsequently revoked by the Civil Aeronautics Board for demonstrating a disregard for air safety and lacking necessary judgment.

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American Airlines Flight 311 departed New York on the evening of October 7, 1947, bound for Dallas and Los Angeles. Three pilots, all qualified captains, were aboard. The airplane was a Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, military designation C-54, the first of the series of four-radial-engine Douglas transports that ended with the DC-7. With a wingspan of 117 feet and room for as many as 80 passengers, it was a big airplane for its time. Unlike later models, however, it was not pressurized.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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