Portland – Eugene – Medford

On January 24, 1933 at 12:00 AM, Portland – Eugene – Medford experienced a crash involving Ford 5, operated by Pacific Air Transport, with the event recorded near Eugene Oregon.

The flight was categorized as postal (mail) and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 66.7%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The three engine airplane was ready for a schedule service from Portland to Medford. As the weather was iffy, all passengers tickets were canceled but the crew has to deliver the mail. The airplane departed Portland-Swan Island Airport at 1015LT bound for Eugene. Approaching Eugene, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with low clouds but was able to land without further problems. After the mail was deplaned, the crew was cleared for takeoff. Following a normal takeoff run, the pilot-in-command initiated the rotation when the right engine failed. The airplane stalled, collided with a runway light and eventually crashed onto a vacant house. All three crew members were injured, both pilots seriously. The following day, they both died from their injuries. The aircraft named 'Dawson' was destroyed. Crew: Harold Adams, pilot, † Kenneth Householder, copilot, † Cornelia Pederman, stewardess.

Aircraft reference details include registration NC431H, MSN 5-AT-098, year of manufacture 1931.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 44.0505°, -123.0951°.