The Incident Report⁴, summarized below, was 25 pages long, but most of it was irrelevant to the purposes of these pages (e.g., 2 pages of duplicate sparse press releases that are essentially the article in the Atlanta paper; 4 pages correcting the regulation number of a previous submissions; routing slips . . . .) My editorial comments are preceded by "WHO," and, as usual, direct quotes are indicated.


1. A two-page hand-written note on pocket pad signed TJN with headers on both pages: 
3 mi E of Nashville, Ga
21.152 [Z?] Day 43-9-11-6
“Pilot apparently flew into thunderstorm, lost control of the plane, and spun in, with engines running. Cause of loss of control by the pilot is unknown but is believed to have resulted from structural failure due to terrific stress weather in thunderstorm or a violent directional updraft which caused plane to stall and spin.
“Pilot was Commanding Officer, Training Group 3, and had gone up to check weather.
“Weather Officer had notified Operations of approaching thunderstorm and students were called.”
[WHO: Possibly, this is a summary added later to the report?]

2. Technical Report of the Aircraft Accident Classification Committee (from Moody Field, meeting held on September 21, 1942)
Place, Date, and Time of Accident: About 3 mi east of Nashville, Ga., 9/11/42, 21:15 Z [GMT?]
Aircraft Station: Moody Field
Organization: 462nd [??]
Aircraft Model AT-9
Aircraft Number: 41-5819
Date Accepted from Contractor: 2/2/42
Hours on Aircraft: 657.75
Engine Model: R-680-9
Hours on Engines: Left, 522:15; Right, 264.05
Took off from Moody Field at 2100 hrs
Organization Assigned: 465th School Squadron 
Regular Duties of Pilot: Commanding Officer, Training Group III
Original Pilot Rating and Date: Pilot, 8/30/40
Total Pilot Hours: 1558:30, and on this Model: 48:40
Number of Hours in Last Three Months: 21:30, 30:10, 38:35

In the final section of the report, “Causes” a percentage had been ascribed to Personnel Error/Pilot Error/Error of Judgment and a percentage to Materiel/Aircraft Structure/Undetermined. The report was subsequently altered and changed to 100% Pilot Error of Judgment. [Editorializing, I note that this type of aircraft proved too difficult to fly and wonder what motivated the report’s alteration.]

Statement of Aircraft Accident Classification Committee: “It is the opinion of the committee that the accident was primarily due to error in judgment by the pilot in flying into a thunderstorm. Inasmuch as the airplane was seen spinning in a thunderstorm of severe turbulence, it is believed that failure to recover from the spin may have been due to structural failure. Therefore, a certain percentage has been assessed under “undetermined.” /s/ Carter E. Duncan, Major; Richard H. Chalmers, First Lieutenant; Willard L. Redans, First Lieutenant. The committee report was concurred in by Fred C. Nelson, Colonel.

3. Statement of the Airdrome Officer, Second Lieutenant Herbert W. Scott: “I was the first person on the scene of the wreck of AT-9 Airplane, AAF No. 41-5819, on September 11, 1942.

“Mr. W.O. Fowler of the Post Fire Department called at 20:15 PM reporting a crash three miles east of Nashville, Georgia. I left immediately on the crash truck. We found the wreckage and located the bodies, which were removed in the Post Ambulance.

“Photographs were taken and the wreckage left in place. No eye witnesses were present but the wreck occurred in the vicinity of 17:15 PM. The airplane was an AT-9; Air Corps serial No. 41-5819. The pilot’s name was Capt. D.L. Morris and the co-pilot’s name was Chaplain Lawrence A. Gough.

The wreck occurred on September 11, 1942.”

4. Statement of Major Carter E. Duncan, Air Corps, Director of Training, dated September 12, 1942: “ On September 11, 1942, I visited the scene of the accident to airplane, AT-9 type, Air Corps No. 41-5819, which crashed three miles east of Nashville, Georgia, at approximately 1715 EWT.

“I interviewed Mrs. Ira Wetherington, the nearest resident to the crash. She testified that between 1700 and 1715 she heard the airplane pass over her house. The engines were running. The accident occurred during a very hard rain from very dark black clouds. The airplane approached the ground from the northwest and crashed into a field about seventy-five yards from Mrs. Wetherington’s house. No investigation was made until about 1945, when Ralph Wetherington arrived, discovered the accident and reported same to the sheriff, who reported it to Moody Field at 2015.

“I also interviewed Mrs. Corson [sic?, presumably “Courson”] and Mrs. Gray, nearby residents, who saw the airplane before it crashed. They testified that the airplane appeared out of the cloud, headed down and spinning, with the engines running. They also heard the crash. They also testified that they saw another airplane in the same vicinity at the same time, but going in another direction.

[WHO: According to George Griffin, a Gray family lived on the Stodgel place (which had been recently purchased by Uncle Cornelius and Aunt Lena). The Stodgel place joins and is west of the L.G. Outlaw Homeplace, where Uncle Cornelius and Aunt Lena lived. I do not know whether this is the “Mrs. Gray” referred to or not, but there aren’t many candidates.]

“The owner of the property on which the airplane landed is Mr. W.H. Outlaw of Lenox, Georgia.

“The airplane apparently flew into an isolated thunderstorm of seven miles in radius, which traveled from Spence Field to Moody Field and then southeast, passing the scene of the accident at approximately 1715. The cause of the loss of control by the pilot is unknown but is believed to be either a materiel failure due to terrific stress within the thunderstorm or a violent directional draft which caused the airplane to stall and spin. The airplane was completely demolished and parts of it were scattered over a length of 100 yards, but appeared to be intact before it hit the ground. Both bodies were a considerable distance from the major portion of the airplane. One parachute was partially open, that of Captain Morris.

“The first officer on the scene was the Airdrome Officer, Lt. H.W. Scott. Shortly thereafter the Flight Surgeon, Captain Lanting, arrived and took charge of the bodies. Also at the scene were Captain Barnes and Lt. Di Cicco. Photographs were taken and the bodies removed and the wreckage turned over to sub-Depot for removal.”

5. The weather report from Moody Field indicated rapidly changing conditions at Moody Field between 1700 and 1730 hr, inclusive. The temperature ranged from 80 to 91 degrees, the wind from 6 to 22 mph, visibility from 0.5 to 1.5 mi with a mention of blowing dust, thundershower. [WHO: As Moody is nominally 25 miles from the crash scene, I did not transcribe a moment by moment blow of the conditions.)

6. The Sub-Depot report indicates that the plane was transferred to the Sub-Depot on 9-12-42.

7. A Brief of the Accident (9-13-42) indicated that the cause was “Caught in thunderstorm and crashed following a spin.” Then, “Weather Officer had notified Operations of a thunderstorm approaching one hour before. Students called in and others to Auxiliary Field. Capt Morris departed 15:00. Storm arrived at field at 15:20. Capt Morris got into thunderstorm at 15:15 and crashed. Believed he went up to check on thunderstorm.” [One presumes that the report intended 5 pm, not 3 pm.] 

8. On or before Sept 12, Mrs. L.A. Gough, 1705 Purdy Street, New York City, had been notified of her son’s death. She was NOK; he was unmarried. Capt. Morris was also unmarried and his mother, Mrs. J. L. Morris, 225 N. Myer Street, Charlotte, NC, had been notified.

9. Press releases had been made by 10:30, 9-12.