Douglas DC-3C N75142

Summary

On 10 December 1996 at about 01:03 local time, a Douglas DC-3C registered N75142, operated by Desert Air Transport, Inc., was involved in an accident near Boise, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 1996 at 01:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Boise, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Boise Air Terminal (BOI)

Coordinates

43.5594, -116.2092

Aircraft

Douglas DC-3C

Registration

N75142

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Desert Air Transport, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA97FA034

2 people died.

A fire within the right engine compartment of undetermined cause and the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain airspeed above the aircraft's minimum control speed. A factor contributing to the accident was the dark night environmental conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The DC-3C took off on runway 10L and immediately executed a right turn followed by a left turn back toward the airport declaring a fire aboard. Dark night visual meteorological conditions existed. Witnesses observed 'flames' or an 'orange glow' coming from the right engine. A small number of aluminum fragments identified from the aft edge of the right engine accessory cowling were found along the ground just short of the ground impact site. These fragments displayed signs of heat distress but no significant melting. An examination of the right engine and accessory section revealed no evidence of a preimpact fire, and sooting and metal splatter on the leading edge of the right horizontal stabilizer was minimal. Spectral analysis of radio transmissions revealed no evidence of significant divergence of engine RPM between the two engines. Postcrash propeller examination revealed approximate blade pitch angles of 18-19 degrees and 30-32 degrees for the right and left propellers respectively upon impact. Propeller slash mark dimensions associated with the right propeller resulted in propeller RPM of approximately 1750 to 2570 over a range of 68 to 100 knots respectively. The first officer advised the PIC (broadcasting over the tower frequency) 'we're gonna stall' approximately 10 seconds before the impact. The aircraft was in a left turn back toward runways 28 left and right when the right wing struck the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled to a stop. A postcrash fire destroyed the cockpit area and inboard right wing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.