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A fatal midair collision near National Airport claimed 55 lives on Nov. 1, 1949, decades before other deadly aviation disasters struck the same stretch of the Potomac River just north of Old Town.

Bolivian pilot Erick Rios Bridoux was flying a surplus World War II-era P-38 when it collided with an Eastern Airlines DC-4 during the planes’ final approaches to the airport. All 51 passengers and four crew members aboard the airliner were killed.

Investigators said the P-38 failed to follow the airport’s prescribed traffic pattern. By Jan. 6, 1950, Bridoux faced seven counts related to the crash, including allegations that he violated Civil Aeronautics Administration rules by flying carelessly and recklessly. The agency sought to revoke his pilot’s license.

Bridoux had also been cited over an Oct. 24 flight in which he took the P-38 from National Airport to Beacon Field in Mount Vernon and returned without a valid permit. The CAA maintained that the aircraft was not airworthy.

Bridoux denied responsibility for the collision. Eastern Airlines later sued him for $500,000.

The P-38 was among thousands of combat aircraft left over after World War II ended in August 1945. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation found about 500 buyers for surplus planes, but sales lagged. Officials eventually tried melting some aircraft into aluminum ingots, while many others remained parked in the desert near Kingman, Arizona.

Another major disaster struck the area on Jan. 13, 1982, when Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac after hitting the 14th Street Bridge during icy weather. The Boeing 737 crash killed 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge. Ice and snow accumulation on the aircraft’s wings contributed to the accident.