# Accident 20010331007179A: Dhav DHC3, Decatur, TX, March 31, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 31, 2001, 12:15 local time - Place: Decatur, TX - Damage: No damage - Location: 33.2292° N, 97.5897° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.2292&lon=-97.5897&mi=10 - Aircraft: N120BA (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: DHAV DHC3 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01LA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA091) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010331007179A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)ON MARCH 31, 2001, AT 1215 CST, A DEHAVILLAND DHC-3 AIRCRAFT, N120BA, OWNED AND OPERATED BISHOP AVIATION, INC., IN DECATUR, TEXAS CLIMBED SEVERAL FEET DURING TAKE-OFF, THEN SETTLED BACK TO THE GROUND AND CONTACTED THE GROUND TAIL FIRST. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (VMC) PREVAILED AND THERE WAS NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED. THE AIRCRAFT HAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THERE WERE 18 PASSENGERS PLUS THE PILOT ON BOARD WITH THE PILOT RECEIVING MINOR INJURIES, 13 PASSENGERS RECEIVING MINOR INJURIES AND 5 PASSENGERS RECEIVING SERIOUS INJURIES. THE PILOT HOLDS AN AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT (APT) RATING. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT DECATUR TEXAS, PRIVATE AIRPORT 67TA, ON MARCH 31, 2001, AT 1315 CST. (.19)ON MARCH 31, 2001 AT 1215 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A DEHAVILLAND DHC-3, SINGLE-ENGINE AIRPLANE, N120BA, STRUCK TREES AND TERRAIN FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ALTITUDE DURING THE TAKEOFF/INITIAL CLIMB FROM THE NORTH RUNWAY AT THE PRIVATE BISHOP AIRFIELD NEAR DECATUR, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED AND OPERATED BY BISHOP AVIATION, INC., OF DECATUR, TEXAS, UNDER 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. THE AIRPLANE TRANSPORT PILOT AND 5 PASSENGERS RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURES, AND 13 PASSENGERS RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE SKY DIVING FLIGHT, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT. ACCORDING TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND THE FAA INSPECTORS, THE AIRPLANE WAS CARRYING PARACHUTISTS FOR A LOCAL SKY-DIVING JUMP FROM 13,000 FEET MSL. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT MOST OF THE JUMPERS WERE EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS FROM THE SKYDIVE TEXAS FACILITY AT BISHOP AIRFIELD. DURING A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2,500 FEET FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY AND 200-300 FEET AGL, WHEN THE AIRPLANE "SUDDENLY ROLLED TO THE RIGHT AT AN ESTIMATED 30 DEGREES PER SECOND, CONTINUED TO THE RIGHT, AND REACHED A 90 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE GROUND." HE MAINTAINED CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE, APPLIED FULL LEFT AILERON AND LEFT RUDDER, PUSHED FORWARD ON THE CONTROL "STICK," AND LEVELED THE WINGS OF THE AIRPLANE. DURING THE SEQUENCE, THE PILOT APPLIED MAXIMUM POWER FOR RECOVERY AND CONTINUED CLIMB OF THE AIRPLANE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PILOT REALIZED THAT THE AIRPLANE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO CLEAR TH E TREES, AND HE REDUCED THE POWER TO IDLE. THE TAIL OF THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE GROUND, THE LEFT WING STRUCK TREES, AND THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST ON AN ESTIMATED HEADING OF NORTH. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT HE "ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THERE WAS AN ASYMMETRICAL LIFT SITUATION WITH A POSSIBLE FLAP DISCONNECT." HOWEVER, HE RECALLED "APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS AGO THAT DURING THE TAKEOFF/INITIAL CLIMB THE AIRPLANE HAD A BUMP, ROLL RIGHT, BUMP, ROLL LEFT SEQUENCE WHEN THE AIRPLANE FLEW THROUGH A DUST DEVIL." AN EVENT, "SO SIMILAR TO THIS ACCIDENT SEQUENCE," THAT HE CONCLUDED THAT THE "AIRPLANE FLEW THROUGH A DUST DEVIL"; HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE AIRPLANE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ALTITUDE FOR A COMPLETE RECOVERY. THE PILOT REPORTED THE "WINDS WERE LIGHT AND VARIABLE FROM THE NORTH/NORTHEAST AT 5-8 MPH." HE STATED THAT A "BAND OF CLOUDS CONNECTED WITH A FRONT HAD PASSED THROUGH THE AREA AND WERE ABOUT ONE HOUR EAST OF THE DROP ZONE." THE FAA INSPECTORS, WHO RESPONDED TO THE SITE, FOUND THE AIRPLANE IN A MUDDY BOG APPROXIMATELY 250 YARDS EAST OF THE RUNWAY. THE LEFT WING WAS FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE AIRFRAME, AND ADDITIONAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE EXISTED THROUGHOUT THE AIRFRAME. THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRPLAN E WAS CRUSHED AND BUCKLED INWARD. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW01LA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA091), Mar 31, 2001: de Havilland DHC-3 (N120BA), Decatur, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff/initial climb. Contributing factors were the pilot's exceeding aircraft weight and balance limits and the dust devil. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.