Flight 203 Remembered 

The twin-engined Douglas DC-3, dangerously
low on fuel, circled over the city at 1500 feet altitude. An unexpected
storm had reduced ceilings and visibility to near zero at all airports
along the east coast.

Captain John Booth picked up the microphone
and called the American Airlines dispatch office. "Can you give me
any airport that’s still open?" The dispatcher on duty hesitated and
then said, "Johnny, I’m sorry but there isn’t anything open within
your fuel range."

This story began fifty-five years ago, on a
wintry Sunday, January 5, 1947. American Airlines Flight 203 was scheduled
from New York to Nashville, Tennessee, with several enroute stops, of
which Baltimore and Washington, D.C., were the first two.

The flight departed LaGuardia Field at 5:34
p.m., and was cleared to cruise at 2000 feet. Sufficient fuel was aboard
for approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes operation.

The January 5th weather forecast prepared
by the U.S. Weather Bureau for New York and vicinity read as follows:
Mostly sunny today, highest temperature, 35 to 40 degrees; moderate to
fresh westerly winds. Tomorrow, partly cloudy and colder, fresh northwest
to west winds. . . . . .