Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Midland International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Midland, Texas 79701
Sunday, October 3, 2004 16:20 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 18,000- hour pilot was cleared for takeoff in the vintage twin-engine tail wheel equipped airplane on a 9,501- foot by 50- foot runway. The pilot was aware that there was a tailwind from approximatly 160 degrees at 10 knots. Shortly after starting the takeoff roll, the airplane swerved to the right. The pilot was able to correct back to the centerline utilizing rudder control. The airplane then swerved to the left, and full right rudder was applied but the swerve could not be corrected. By the time the airplane reached the left edge of the runway, the airplane had not reached its calculated V2 speed of 110 knots. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, went airborne and shortly thereafter, the right wing dropped and contacted the ground. The airplane then spun 180 degrees, impacted the ground, slid backward, and came to rest upright. A post-crash fire consumed the aft fuselage and left wing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. Contributing factors were the choice of runway used and the prevailing tailwind.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/3/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1620 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Midland |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 79701 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 315600N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1021217W |
| Event Location Airport | Midland International Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MAF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2871 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1644 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MAF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2871 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 4185 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 5 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17964 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 3 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1740 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 7 2005 10:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lubbock, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6371C |
| NTSB Number | FTW05LA003 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Lockheed |
| Aircraft Model | 18-56 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-2598 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 22500 |
| 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 | 13 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 15 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4.6 |
| Airframe Hours | 8999 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 62000 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Midland |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 79711 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Commemorative Air Force |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | MAF |
| Departure City | Midland |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1620 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 1V5 |
| Destination City | Boulder |
| Destination State | CO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 9 2005 1:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 34L |
| Runway Length | 9501 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |