Swanson

This is a civil action brought by Eunice L. Swanson, individually, and as Guardian ad Litem of Michael R. Swanson and Franklin R. Swanson, minors, against the United States under the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq. The plaintiffs seek to recover damages for the wrongful death of their husband and father, Fi-anklin R. Swanson, Sr., killed on March 22, 1961 in the crash of an Air Force Lockheed Constellation (C-121) at Gridley, California. Mr. Swanson, a technical representative of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, was stationed at McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento, California. The crash, which left no survivors, occurred while the plane was making a flight which had for its purposé a maintenance check and the testing of a modification in the elevator control mechanism of the tail assembly.

The elevator mechanism is functionally similar to the rudder, except that instead of being used to change the direction of the plane, it is used to change altitude. The pilot alters the angle of the elevator by means of an hydraulic and electrical system. If the pilot changes the angle of the elevator so that it forms an angle above the horizontal, the…