Air Indiana Flight 216

Last updated

Air Indiana Flight 216
Douglas DC-3, SE-CFP.jpg
DC-3 similar to accident aircraft
Accident
DateDecember 13, 1977
SummaryRudder and right aileron
control locks not removed before takeoff
Site Evansville Regional Airport, Indiana, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type Douglas DC-3
Operator Air Indiana
Registration N51071
Passengers26
Crew3
Fatalities29
Survivors0

The Air Indiana Flight 216 crash occurred on December 13, 1977, at 19:22 CST, when a Douglas DC-3, registration N51071 carrying the University of Evansville basketball team, the Evansville Purple Aces, crashed on takeoff at the Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana. The aircraft lost control and crashed shortly after lift-off. [1] The plane was on its way to Nashville International Airport, taking the team to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. [2] [3]

Contents

The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on the pilot's failure to remove gust locks on the right aileron and the rudder before takeoff, as well as an overloaded baggage compartment. The NTSB report said that the plane might have been able to stay airborne had only one of the problems existed. As it was, the extra baggage shifted the plane's center of gravity to the back end, and the locked rudder and aileron made it impossible to control the overweight aircraft.

Head coach Bobby Watson was the only coach on board the flight as his assistant coaches were on scouting assignments at the time. Athletic director Jim Byers had planned to board the plane but stayed behind to interview a candidate for the baseball program. Four of the passengers were still breathing when found by rescuers, with three dying on the scene and one dying hours after the accident. [4] [5] The only member of the Purple Aces who did not die in the crash was 18-year-old freshman David Furr; he was out for the season with an ankle injury and thus was not on the plane that day. Two weeks after the crash, Furr and his younger brother Byron were killed in a car accident near Newton, Illinois, leaving the entire 1977 Evansville team dead. [6] After consideration, the rest of the season was cancelled.

A memorial has been constructed at the University of Evansville known as the "Weeping Basketball." On stone slabs are engraved the names of the players who were killed, including Furr (the final name on the monument is that of Charles Goad of the Goad Equipment Company, invited on the flight by his friend Bob Hudson). Also engraved is an excerpt from the eulogy delivered by school president Wallace Graves at a memorial service: "Out of the agony of this hour we will rise." A memorial is also at the Ford Center, where the Purple Aces currently play their home games. [7]

Flight crew

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Airlines Flight 587</span> Aviation accident in November 2001, New York, USA

American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. On November 12, 2001, the Airbus A300B4-605R flying the route crashed into the neighborhood of Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula of Queens, New York City, shortly after takeoff. All 260 people aboard the plane were killed, as well as five people on the ground. It is the second-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history, behind the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 in 1979, and the second-deadliest aviation incident involving an Airbus A300, after Iran Air Flight 655.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish Airlines Flight 981</span> 1974 passenger plane crash in France

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (TK981/THY981) was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed into the Ermenonville Forest, outside Paris, killing all 335 passengers, and 11 crew on board. The crash was also known as the Ermenonville air disaster. Flight 981 was the deadliest plane crash in aviation history until 27 March 1977, when 583 people died in the collision of two Boeing 747s in Tenerife. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors, the second hull loss and the deadliest accident involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Airlines Flight 585</span> 1991 aviation accident in Colorado

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Midwest Flight 5481</span> 2003 aviation accident in North Carolina, United States

Air Midwest Flight 5481 was a Beechcraft 1900D on a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina. On the morning of January 8, 2003, the Beechcraft stalled while departing Charlotte Douglas International Airport and crashed into an aircraft hangar, killing all 21 passengers and crew aboard and injuring one person on the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAir Flight 5050</span> 1989 aviation accident

USAir Flight 5050 was a passenger flight that crashed on takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. As the plane took off from LaGuardia's runway 31, the plane drifted to the left. After hearing a loud bang, the pilots attempted to reject the takeoff, but were unable to stop the plane short of the end of the runway. The plane continued past the end of the runway and plunged into Bowery Bay. Two passengers were killed.

W. K. Kellogg Airport is a city-owned, public-use, joint civil-military airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Battle Creek, a city in Calhoun County, Michigan, United States. The airport is accessible by road from Helmer Road, and is located near I-94. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a regional general aviation facility. It is also known as W. K. Kellogg Regional Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gust lock</span> Mechanism that locks control surfaces

A gust lock on an aircraft is a mechanism that locks control surfaces and keeps open aircraft doors in place while the aircraft is parked on the ground and non-operational. Gust locks prevent wind from causing unexpected movements of the control surfaces and their linked controls inside the aircraft, as well as aircraft doors on some aircraft; otherwise, wind gusts could cause possible damage to the control surfaces and systems, or to nearby people, cargo, or machinery. Some gust locks are external devices attached directly to the aircraft's control surfaces, while others are attached to the relevant flight controls inside the cockpit.

During the 1990s, a series of issues affecting the rudder of Boeing 737 passenger aircraft resulted in multiple incidents. In two separate accidents, pilots lost control of their aircraft due to a sudden and unexpected rudder movement, and the resulting crashes killed everyone on board, 157 people in total. Similar rudder issues led to a temporary loss of control on at least one other Boeing 737 flight before the cause of the problem was ultimately identified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastwind Airlines Flight 517</span> 1996 aviation incident

On June 9, 1996, while operating a passenger flight from Trenton, New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia, the crew of Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 temporarily lost control of their Boeing 737-200 because of a rudder malfunction. The crew were able to regain control and land the aircraft successfully. One flight attendant was injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Airlines Flight 1404</span> 2008 aviation accident

Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was a Continental Airlines domestic flight from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On the evening of December 20, 2008, the flight crashed while taking off from Denver, resulting in two critical injuries, 36 noncritical injuries, and a hull loss of the Boeing 737-524 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball</span> American college basketball team

The Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Ford Center. Evansville's athletics teams were originally known as the Pioneers in the early part of the 1900s. In the 1920s, the name Aces arose after a local sports writer wrote in a game story of the men's basketball team, "They played like Aces." The team has been known as the Aces and/or Purple Aces ever since. Evansville has won five Division II national championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAir Flight 427</span> Aviation accident in 1994

USAir Flight 427 was a scheduled flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, with a stopover at Pittsburgh International Airport. On Thursday, September 8, 1994, the Boeing 737 flying this route crashed in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania while approaching Runway 28R at Pittsburgh, which was USAir's largest hub at the time.

Several aviation incidents and accidents have occurred in which the control surfaces of an aircraft became disabled, often due to failure of hydraulic systems or the flight control system. Other incidents have occurred where controls were not functioning correctly prior to take-off, either due to maintenance or pilot error, and controls can become inoperative from extreme weather conditions. Aircraft are not designed to be flown in such circumstances; however, a small number of pilots have had some success in flying and landing aircraft with disabled controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 Otter crash</span> Air taxi crash at Soldotna Airport, Alaska

On 7 July 2013, a single-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, operated by air charter company Rediske Air, crashed on take-off at Soldotna Airport, Alaska. The sole crewmember and all nine passengers on board were killed. The crash was attributed to improper loading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Wichita King Air crash</span> Aviation disaster in Kansas, US

On October 30, 2014, a Beechcraft King Air B200 twin turboprop crashed into a building hosting a FlightSafety International (FSI) training center shortly after taking off from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kansas. The pilot, the only person on board, was killed along with three people in the building; six more people in the building were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash</span> Aviation accident

The 1972 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash was an aviation accident that occurred on December 31, 1972, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. As a result of inadequate maintenance, the aircraft's No. 2 engine failed after takeoff. After initiating a turn to return to the airport, the aircraft eventually descended into, or attempted to ditch into, the ocean a mile offshore. All five people on board died, including baseball legend Roberto Clemente. The crash site was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

Air Indiana was a regional, charter and cargo airline that operated Douglas DC-3 aircraft during the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozark Air Lines Flight 982</span> 1968 aviation accident

Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 was a regularly scheduled flight on December 27, 1968, originating from Sioux Falls Regional Airport to O'Hare International Airport connecting through Sioux Gateway Airport that crashed shortly after takeoff. The plane struck the ground about 500 feet beyond the end of the runway and came to a stop about 1200 ft from the end of the runway. Thirty-five of the flight's 64 passengers and four crew members were taken to area hospitals, mostly for treatment of minor cuts and scratches. The flight was piloted by Capt. Patrick G. Sweeney, 48, of Wood River, IL. The copilot was John T. Schmeltz, 33, of St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1977–78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by first-time head coach Bobby Watson after the departure of Arad McCutchan, who had spent the previous 31 years as coach of the program. Former Purple Aces player Jerry Sloan had previously accepted an offer to become the new head coach but left following five days with the team. The season was the Purple Aces' first time playing in NCAA Division I after years of success in NCAA Division II competition.

References

  1. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-53 (DC-3) N51071 Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV)". Aviation-safety.net. December 13, 1977. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  2. "Team plane crashes in flames". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 14, 1977. p. 1.
  3. "Air crash ends Evansville's dreams". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 14, 1977. p. 1D.
  4. https://mccutchanvillefiredepartment.org/ue-plane-crash/
  5. Johnson, Dave (December 15, 1977). "Evansville Fans, Community Took Watson to Heart". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. "Last Evansville player dies in auto accident". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). UPI. December 29, 1977. p. 1E.
  7. "Sunday marks 43 years since UE plane crash". 14 WFIE. (Indiana). NBC. December 13, 2020.
  8. "30 Years After 90 Seconds". September 9, 2011.

38°2′11.89″N87°31′7.61″W / 38.0366361°N 87.5187806°W / 38.0366361; -87.5187806