- Date
- August 24, 1991, 14:08 local (18:08 UTC)
- Place
- Apple Creek, OH
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 26 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N13JADouglas DC-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910824036479A
- Case key
- 36997
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
Improper planning/decision by the pilot(s), and improper use of the fuel system/fuel selector. The location of trees was a related factor.
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
Just after the acft became airborne for a local sightseeing flt, its left eng lost pwr. The acft yawed to the left & the left prop was feathered. The acft's flt path angled to the left of the rwy & crossed over trees to the left of the dep end of the rwy. Due to a loss of speed, the capt realized the acft would not clr a 2nd row of trees, so he reduced pwr in the rgt eng & made a wheels up lndg in a corn fld. Drg the lndg, the acft was dmgd. The left eng was checked after the acdnt & it produced takeoff pwr. Performance charts showed that a takeoff distance of 3551' would have been required to clear a 50' obstacle. This distance was predicated on a hard surface; no correction factor was supplied for a turf rwy. The grass rwy was 3600' long. Rprtdly, the takeoff was started with 3500' of runway remaining. The plts were using the rear tanks for takeoff. According to the flt manual, takeoffs & climbs should have been made using the left & rgt front center wing tanks, respectively. The front tanks had only about 5 gal of fuel remaining.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N13JA
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4082
- Airframe hours
- 52,452
- Engine
- P&W R-1830-75, 1,350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jaars, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · August 20, 1991 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- OH22
- Destination
- OH22
- Airport
- OH22 · Stoltzfus Airfield, runway 36, 3,600 × 200 ft, grass/turf
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,500 total · 1,873 in this make and model · 5,123 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.