Salmon

The airline transport pilot was repositioning the airplane to an airport near the owner's summer home. The airplane was not maintained for instrument flight, and the pilot had diverted the day before the accident due to weather. On the day of the accident, the pilot departed for the destination, but returned shortly after due to weather. After waiting for the weather conditions to improve, the pilot departed again that afternoon, and refueled the airplane at an intermediate airport before continuing toward the destination. The route of flight followed a highway that traversed a mountain pass. A witness located along the highway stated that he saw the accident airplane traveling northbound toward the mountain pass, below the overcast cloud layer. He also stated that the mountain pass was obscured, and he could see a thunderstorm developing toward the west, which was moving east toward the pass. A second witness, located near the accident site, saw the airplane descend vertically from the base of the clouds while spinning in a level attitude and impact the ground. The second witness reported that it was snowing and that the visibility was about ¼ mile at the time of the accident. The airplane impacted terrain in a level attitude, and was consumed by a postcrash fire. Examination of the flight controls, airframe, and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of aircraft control upon encountering instrument meteorological conditions. The airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack and entered a flat spin at low altitude, resulting in an uncontrolled descent and impact with terrain.

The pilot removed the airplane from a hangar that was kept heated to about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and parked it on the ramp while awaiting the arrival of the passengers. The outside temperature was below freezing, and a steady light to moderate snow was falling. The airplane sat in the aforementioned ambient conditions for at least 45 minutes before the initiation of the takeoff roll. Prior to attempting the takeoff, the pilot did not remove the accumulated snow or the snow that had melted on the warm airframe and then refroze as ice. The surviving passengers said that the takeoff ground run was longer than normal and the airplane lifted off at 100 knots indicated and momentarily touched back down, and then lifted off again. Almost immediately after it lifted off the second time, the airplane rolled into a steep right bank severe enough that the surviving passengers thought that the wing tip might contact the ground. As the pilot continued the takeoff initial climb, the airplane repeatedly rolled rapidly to a steep left and right bank angle several times and did not seem to be climbing. The airplane was also shuddering, and to the passengers it felt like it may have stalled or dropped. The pilot then lowered the nose and appeared to attain level flight. The pilot made a left turn of about 180 degrees to a downwind for the takeoff runway. During this turn the airplane reportedly again rolled to a steeper than normal bank angle, but the pilot successfully recovered. When the pilot initiated a left turn toward the end of the runway, the airplane again began to shake, shudder, and yaw, and started to rapidly lose altitude. Although the pilot appeared to push the throttles full forward soon after initiating the turn, the airplane began to sink at an excessive rate, and continued to do so until it struck a hangar approximately 1,300 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 35. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures were identified in examinations of the wreckage and engines.

Before takeoff, the pilot filed a company flight plan for a VFR flight from Boise to Salmon, ID. He reported that during initial climb, the engine surged, then seemed to return to normal operation. He reduced the power to 33 inches of manifold pressure and set the propeller to 2,550 rpm. Shortly thereafter, the engine began losing power again, there was a second surge, then the propeller stopped. During an emergency landing, the pilot elected to cross over a road and land in an open field. He saw a power line along the road at the edge of the field and elected to cross under it to land. However, he did not see a single telephone pole on the opposite side of the road. The left wing struck the pole and the plane cartwheeled and crashed. Three occupants escaped with minor injuries and four others were uninjured. An investigation revealed that the crankshaft had failed from fatigue.

The pilot took off with 4 passengers after waiting 4 hours for the air temperature to cool. The takeoff seemed normal, but over the river at about 50 feet agl, the aircraft began to sink. It impacted rough terrain on the far side of the river. The airport elevation was 2,045 feet msl and the temperature was 90 degrees. All five occupants were seriously injured.

On a cargo flight from Salmon to Indian Creek, the pilot made a detour to fly over a large game as the passenger was an avid hunter. While cruising at low altitude and low speed, the single engine airplane stalled, crashed and burst into flames. Both occupants were killed.

The pilot and the passenger were engaged in a survey flight from Salmon to McCall. While flying at low height, the twin engine airplane struck trees and crashed in a dense wooded area. While the passenger was seriously injured, the pilot was killed.

The crew was engaged in a firefighting mission in the region of Salmon, Idaho. While cruising a low height, the crew failed to realize his speed was too low when the airplane stalled and crashed in flames. The aircraft was destroyed and both crew members were killed.