# Accident 20010812029409A: Doug DC3C, Redding, CA, August 12, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 12, 2001, 19:05 local time
- Place: Redding, CA
- Airport: Redding Municipal
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.4302° N, 120.5293° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.4302&lon=-120.5293&mi=10
- Aircraft: N376AS (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: DOUG DC3C
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01TA278](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01TA278) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010812029409A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.19) ON AUGUST 12, 2001, AT 1905 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A DOUGLAS DC-3C, N376AS, ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE DURING CRUISE FLIGHT OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN FOLLOWING AN AERIAL DEPLOYMENT OF SMOKE JUMPERS NEAR ALTURAS, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT DAMAGED. NEITHER THE TWO AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOTS NOR THE THIRD CREWMEMBER WAS INJURED. THE FOURTH CREWMEMBER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT OPERATED BY RHOADES AVIATION INC. UNDER A UNITED STATES FORREST SERVICE CONTRACT. THE PUBLIC-USE FLIGHT WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED REDDING, CALIFORNIA, AT 1730, AND WAS RETURNING TO REDDING WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE OPERATOR INDICATED THAT THERE WERE TWO CABIN CREWMEMBERS (SPOTTERS) ON BOARD. THEY WERE SECURING THE CABIN FOR THEIR RETURN FLIGHT TO REDDING. AS THE AIRPLANE CROSSED OVER A RIDGE LINE IT ENCOUNTERED A SUDDEN WIND SHEAR, OR DOWNDRAFT. ONE SPOTTER HIT HIS HELMET ON THE CEILING, BUT WAS NOT INJURED. THE SECOND SPOTTER, WHO WAS IN MID-CABIN REPORTED "I JUST BROKE MY LEG." THE PILOT DIVERTED THE FLIGHT TO ALTURAS. NO OTHER TURBULENCE WAS ENCOUNTERED PRIOR TO OR AFTER THEACCIDENT EVENT. (-23) AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE FOLLOWING AN AERIAL DEPLOYMENT OF SMOKE JUMPERS. ONE OF TWO CABIN CREW MEMBERS (SPOTTERS) WAS SECURING THE CABIN WHEN THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED A SUDDEN WIND SHEAR. THE SPOTTER WHO WAS POSITIONED IN THE MID-CABIN AREA REPORTED "I JUST BROKE MY LEG." THE PILOT DIVERTED THE FLIGHT TO ALTURAS WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.

## 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 LAX01TA278](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01TA278), Aug 13, 2001: Douglas DC-3C (N376AS), Alturas, CA, no damage. Probable cause: The inadvertent encounter with terrain induced turbulence. A factor was the high terrain.

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.

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