Aeronautics Board. The CAA was responsible for air traffic control, safety programs, and airway development. The CAB was entrusted with safety rulemaking, accident investigation, and economic regulation of the airlines. Although both organizations were part of the Department of Commerce, the CAB functioned independently. When a Douglas DC-3A crashed shortly after departing Washington, D.C. on August 31, 1940, the CAB had their first major investigation, that of the Lovettsville air disaster, setting the pattern for subsequent accident investigations. In 1942, President Roosevelt appointed L. Welch Pogue as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Pogue served as Chairman until 1946. During his tenure he helped strike down a plan for a single world airline. After World War II began in Europe, the CAA launched the Civilian Pilot Training Program to provide new pilots. On the eve of America's entry into the conflict, the agency began to take over operation of airport control towers, a role that eventually became permanent. During the war, the CAA also greatly enlarged its en route air traffic control system. In 1944, the United States hosted a conference in Chicago that led to the establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization and set the framework for future aviation diplomacy. In 1946, Congress gave the CAA the task of administering a federal-aid airport program aimed exclusively at promoting development of the United States' civil airports. This included the establishment of semi-permanent colonies in remote, U.S.-owned territories, such as the Palmyra Atoll, where beginning in 1948, nearly 100 men, women, and children were sent to live and work. They occupied the facilities of what had been a Navy refueling base during World War II, manning its radio station and maintaining the 6,000-foot runway. Strangely, this community was dispersed in 1949, and while the exact reasons why are unclear, it was likely because the benefits of operating the facilities did not outweigh the cost of providing for the colony members. Federal Aviation Administration and NASA Several mid-air collisions occurred during the latter half of the 20th century, such as the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, the first time more than 100 people were killed. Jet travel was nascent at this time, prompting the passage of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. The legislation gave the CAA's functions to a new independent body, the Federal Aviation Agency. The act transferred safety rulemaking from CAB to the new FAA (the CAB continued),