Eastern Air Lines Flight 537 Douglas DC4 Midair Collision Washington, DC November 1, 1949

A midair collision occurred near National Airport in Washington, DC on November 1, 1949. A P38 World War II plane and a commercial airliner came together when a Bolivian pilot in the P38 either did not hear air traffic controllers, or failed to respond to their commands. The crash left 53 persons dead, all of them aboard the Eastern DC4. Ironically, the P38 pilot survived the crash. He was injured severely but nevertheless was the sole survivor in the disaster. Divers worked to free the DC4 which was embedded in the Potomac River between Washington and Mount Vernon, Virginia.