The twin-engine medium-range aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp double radial engines, each with an output of 1,200 hp.

It was suspected that 33-year-old Clayton Berry, Delta's airport communications supervisor, who had 47 hours of flight experience, was in the right pilot's seat at the time of the accident.

[2][3][4] The Delta team had spent the previous day surveying Macon Municipal Airport and meeting local officials there for similar reasons to their visit to Columbus.

[2] While the weight of the BT-13 and the force of the collision pushed the DC-3 down, Captain Cushing gave it full throttle, which caused the two planes to climb to an altitude of 150 feet (46 m) before a stall occurred.

[1] The planes burned on the ground for an hour and a half before the fire was extinguished by firefighting crews from Columbus, Fort Benning, and Lawson Army Airfield.

The investigators found Fussell, the pilot of the Vultee to be responsible for the accident, especially since he had failed to fly a standard left-hand circuit and look for other air traffic when approaching the airport.

[1] Within days of the CAB's final report being released, Muscogee County Airport was approved to receive upgrades to its navigational equipment using federal funding.