The hill was not particularly steep nor particularly tall nor particularly close to the runway—so nondescript, in fact, that pilots probably barely took note of it. In daylight they would maintain the runway heading while climbing and the hill would sink harmlessly below and behind them.
At night it could be a different matter. That the hill was a potential hazard had been recognized, and a row of red lights on 30-foot stanchions had been erected, some distance from the side of the runway and parallel to it, to remind pilots not to drift to the left. The instrument departure procedure instructed pilots to “climb visually over airport, to cross airport at or above 1,500 feet, then proceed on course.” The phrase “cross airport” was unclear; it was later changed to a more conventionally worded instruction to maintain runway heading.
