Incident Overview
Date: Wednesday 4 June 1958
Aircraft Type: Douglas C-53B (DC-3)
Owner/operator: Capital Airlines
Registration Number: N49553
Location: Martinsburg Airport, WV (MRB) –
ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: Unknown
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Component Affected: Landing gear latchLanding gear latch
Investigating Agency: CABCAB
Category: Accident
A DC-3 aircraft was involved in a training flight at Martinsburg, resulting in a crash after a single-engine approach. The trainee attempted to climb out but stalled, leading to a crash into a wooded area. The incident was attributed to a trainee-pilot’s failure to maintain minimum-control speed during a go-around, compounded by a malfunctioning landing gear latch which delayed retraction of the landing gear.A DC-3 aircraft was involved in a training flight at Martinsburg, resulting in a crash after a single-engine approach. The trainee attempted to climb out but stalled, leading to a crash into a wooded area. The incident was attributed to a trainee-pilot’s failure to maintain minimum-control speed during a go-around, compounded by a malfunctioning landing gear latch which delayed retraction of the landing gear.
Description
The DC-3 was on a training flight, practicing takeoffs and landings at Martinsburg. Following a single-engine approach to runway 08 the trainee tried to climb out, but the aircraft stalled and crashed into a wooded area. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Following the trainee-pilot’s failure to maintain minimum-control speed during an attempted go-around, the instructor-pilot failed to take control of the aircraft in sufficient time to prevent a critical loss of altitude. A contributing factor was the malfunction of the landing gear latch which delayed retraction of the landing gear and caused the distraction of the instructor-pilot for several seconds during a critical period of the go-around.”
Primary Cause
Failure to maintain minimum-control speed during a go-around.Failure to maintain minimum-control speed during a go-around.Share on:
