Incident Overview
Date: Tuesday 18 August 1970
Aircraft Type: Boeing B-17T Turbo Fortress
Owner/operator: Aero Flite
Registration Number: N1340N
Location: near Dubois, WY –
ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Component Affected: Aircraft ? B-17, Rolls Royce Dart Turboprops, Vickers ViscountAircraft ? B-17, Rolls Royce Dart Turboprops, Vickers Viscount
Category: Accident
A B-17 aircraft, converted to four Rolls Royce Dart turboprops from a Vickers Viscount, crashed while conducting a downwind fire bombing run along the slope of West River Indian Reservation. The incident was likely caused by pilot error ? misjudging altitude and clearance ? combined with adverse weather conditions, specifically a downdraft and updraft, and a high density altitude.A B-17 aircraft, converted to four Rolls Royce Dart turboprops from a Vickers Viscount, crashed while conducting a downwind fire bombing run along the slope of West River Indian Reservation. The incident was likely caused by pilot error ? misjudging altitude and clearance ? combined with adverse weather conditions, specifically a downdraft and updraft, and a high density altitude.
Description
The B-17 crashed while making a down wind fire bombing run along the slope of a mountain at West River Indian Reservation. The aircraft had been converted to a using four Rolls Royce Dart turboprops from a Vickers Viscount. PROBABLE CAUSE(S) pilot in command – misjudged altitude and clearance pilot in command – failed to obtain/maintain flying speed FACTOR(S) weather – downdraft,updrafts weather – high density altitude
Primary Cause
Pilot error ? misjudged altitude and clearancePilot error ? misjudged altitude and clearanceShare on:
