Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bishop Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Decatur, Texas 76234
Saturday, March 31, 2001 12:15 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and 21 jumpers were aboard the airplane for the local skydiving flight. The airplane took off to the north on the wet grass runway. Jumpers reported that during the initial takeoff climb, the aircraft assumed a "very steep angle of attack," and described the pilot "winding the wheel on the lower right side of the chair clockwise, frantically," and "busy with a wheel between the seats." The airplane impacted trees and terrain approximately 250 yards east of the runway. The pilot reported that the "airplane flew through a dust devil" and did not have enough altitude for a complete recovery. The pilot stated the winds were northerly at 6 to 8 knots with "extreme" turbulence. The nearest weather observation facility reported clear skies with calm wind. Takeoff weight and center of gravity (CG) were calculated at 9,118.05 lbs and 161.92 inches. The AFM listed the maximum gross weight at 8,000 pounds and the aft CG limit at 152.2 inches. Further, an AFM WARNING stated: C. G. POSITION OF THE LOADED AIRCRAFT MUST BE CHECKED AND VERIFIED PRIOR TO TAKE-OFF, AND APPROPRIATE TRIM SETTINGS SHOULD BE USED; OTHERWISE ABNORMAL STICK FORCES AND POSITIONS MAY RESULT. The elevator trim wheel is located on the right-hand side of the pilot's seat. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that there were 16 seatbelts in the cabin section and 2 seatbelts in the cockpit. Additionally, a placard installed in the cockpit stated, in part, THIS AIRPLANE IS LIMITED TO THE OPERATION OF NINE PASSENGERS OR LESS. Regarding the discrepancy between the placarded 9 passenger limit and the 21 jumpers aboard, the pilot stated that parachute jumpers are not considered to be passengers and therefore, he did not have to comply with the placarded limit.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff/initial climb. Contributing factors were the pilot's exceeding aircraft weight and balance limits and the dust devil.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/31/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1215 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Decatur |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 76234 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Bishop |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 67TA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 800 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AFW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 722 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 13 |
| Injury Total None | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | 5 |
| Injury Total All | 18 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11051 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 31 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1446 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 28 2001 7:25AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FORT WORTH, TEXAS |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N120BA |
| NTSB Number | FTW01LA091 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | de Havilland |
| Aircraft Model | DHC-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 115 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 6633 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas W. Bishop |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 330 PR 2506 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Decatur |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76234 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Thomas W. Bishop |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 330 PR 2506 |
| Operator City | Decatur |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 76234 |
| Operator Code | O9BA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Skydiving |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 67TA |
| Departure City | Decatur |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1215 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 10 2014 12:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 35 |
| Runway Length | 3800 |
| Runway Width | 200 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |