# Accident 20010514010969A: Cvac BT13A, Odessa, TX, May 14, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 14, 2001, 13:50 local time - Place: Odessa, TX - Airport: Bates Field Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 31.8319° N, 102.2478° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Bates Field (71TA), closed, within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8319&lon=-102.2478&mi=10 - Aircraft: N66791, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N66791-2002-01-08) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Convair BT-13A (registry code 2420204, https://openairdocs.org/model/convair-bt-13a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R-985 series (registry code 52008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r-985-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CVAC BT13A - Reported engine: PWA R985AN1 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 4,450 total, 172 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01FA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA117) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010514010969A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WAS SCHEDULED TO PROVIDE TRANSITION TRAINING IN A BT-13 TO ANOTHER CONFEDERATE AIR FORCE (CAF) PILOT MEMBER. THEY WERE OBSERVED ORBITING BATES FIELD AND DESCENDING. THE LOW PASS ON THE FIELD WAS DOWNWIND AND MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ALIGNED WITH RUNWAY 33. THE WITNESSES SAID THEY SAW THE RIGHT WING WAS LOW AND HEARD THE ENGINE POWER BEING APPLIED BEFORE THE RIGHT WING HIT THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT STARTED A GROUND LOOP, WHICH WAS ARRESTED WHEN THE RIGHT WING WAS TORN OFF THE AIRPLANE BY A 6 INCH DIAMETER STEEL FENCE LINE PIPE MOUNTED IN CONCRETE. THERE WAS A SMALL, POSTCRASH FIRE IN THE ENGINE WHICH THE WITNESSES PUT OUT BY THROWING SAND DIRT ON IT. THIS ACCIDENT IS CONSISTENT WITH A SMALL/SPIN ACCIDNET AS A RESULT OF A DELAYED GO-AROUND FROM A SIMULATED FORCED LANDING. THE FORCED LANDING WAS PROBABLY NOT SETUP CORRECTLY RESULTING IN A FNAL APPROACH THAT WAS DOWNWIND. (.4) THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS UNDERGOING HIS 7TH HOUR OF DUAL FAMILIARIZATION TRAINING IN THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE APPROACHED THE AIRPORT FROM THE EAST, OVER FLEW THE SOUTH END OF THE AIRPORT, AND THEN EXECUTED A LEFT TEARD ROP TURN TO RUNWAY 34. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES AT THE AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE WAS ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 34, APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET AGL, WHEN THEY HEARD POWER APPLIED TO THE ENGINE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE RIGHT WING DROPPED, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND, CONTACTED A STEEL POLE, AND CAME TO A STOP UPRIGHT. THE WITNESS ACCOUNTS AND GROUND SCARS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERING A STALL. ONE WITNESS, WHO WAS LOCATED ON THE AIRPORT, REPORTED THAT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT THE WIND WAS FROM THE SOUTH AT 10 MPH. TWO MINUTES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, TWO WEATHER OBSERVATION FACILITIES THAT ARE LOCATED 7 MILES NORTHEAST AND 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED WIND FROM 200 DEGREES AT 13 KNOTS AND GUSTING TO 20 KNOTS AND WIND FROM 210 DEGREES AT 11 KNOTS AND GUSTING TO 19 KNOTS, RESPECTIVELY. THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE WERE EXAMINED AND NO PRE-IMPACT ANOMALIES WERE NOTED THAT WOULD HAVE PRECLUDED THEIR OPERATION. ## 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 FTW01FA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA117), May 14, 2001: Convair BT-13A (N66791), Odessa, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain the minimum required airspeed for flight, which resulted in a loss of control while performing a go-around. A contributing factor to the accident was the gusty… ## Other reports on N66791 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19800907039999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800907039999A), Sep 7, 1980: Cvac BT13A (N66791), Waco, TX, Substantial damage. Pilot lost control of aircraft during roll-out when brake failed. 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.