On a foggy evening in 1949, a Capital Airlines DC-3 crashed in the Potomac River as it attempted to land at National Airport from the north. Four people died, including the pilot and co-pilot of Flight 500. Sixteen others survived the Dec. 12 crash. Firefighters on the Virginia side of the river could hear their calls for help. Boats from Bolling Air Force Base in Washington located the wreckage and rescued the victims. The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded "the probable cause of this accident was the stalling of the aircraft."
