- Date
- March 7, 1993, 03:02 local (11:02 UTC)
- Place
- Oakland, CA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N494Beech C-45H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report November 15, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930307004429A
- Case key
- 27941
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A premature lift off and inadvertent stall by the pilot-in-command. Contributing to the accident was insufficient available aircraft performance data after a ferry tank installation and both pilots lack of total experience in the airplane.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The non-certificated foreign military pilot (first pilot) and a U.S. Certificated airline transport pilot (second pilot) planned to ferry an airplane to australia with an intermediate stop in Hawaii. Auxiliary fuel and engine oil tanks were installed in the airplane. The airplane had been authorized a special airworthiness certificate for over gross weight operations for the ferry flight. The first pilot had accrued 50 hours and the second pilot accrued 25 hours in the accident airplane prior to the overweight departure. During the takeoff, the airplane became airborne at 100 knots of airspeed. The airplane pitched up and began to dutch roll. At about 50 feet above the ground, the airplane stalled and descended to the runway. A fire erupted in the cabin area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N494
- Reported as
- Beech C-45H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AF-466
- Airframe hours
- 5,480
- Engine
- P&W R-985-AN14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Aus Ex Corp.
- Registered owner
- Hast Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 23, 1993 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- OAK
- Destination
- HNL · Honolulu, HI
- Flight plan
- VFR/IFR
- Airport
- OAK · Oakland, runway 29, 10,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Certificates
- Military, Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,400 total · 50 in this make and model · 1,811 as pilot in command · 82 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OAK, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N494 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.