About 1650 P.s.t. on February 10, 1978, Columbia Pacific Airlines, Inc., Flight 23, a Beech 99, crashed in VFR conditions on takeoff from runway 36 at the Richland Airport, Richland Washington. Flight 23, a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Seattle, had 15 passengers and 2 crewmembers on board. After liftoff, the aircraft climbed steeply to 400 feet above the runway, then stalled and crashed 2,000 feet beyond the end of the runway. A severe fire erupted after impact. All persons on board were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the failure or inability of the flightcrew to prevent a rapid pitchup and stall by exerting sufficient push force on the control wheel. The pitchup was induced by the combination of a mistrimmed horizontal stabilizer and a center of gravity near the aircraft's aft limit. Additionally, a malfunctioning stabilizer trim actuator detracted from the flightcrew's efforts to prevent the stall. Contributing to the accident were inadequate flightcrew training, inadequate trim warning system check procedures, inadequate maintenance procedures, and ineffective FAA surveillance.
Aircraft Accident Report - Columbia Pacific Airlines, Beech 99, N199EA, Richland, Washington, February 10, 1978
1978
48 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation Safety , Air Transportation , Aeronautics , Aviation accidents , Accident investigations , Takeoff , Climbing flight , Stalling , Impact , Aircraft fires , Warning systems , Transport aircraft , Passenger aircraft , Pilots , Specialized training , Jet aircraft , Washington(State) , Beechcraft Model 99 aircraft , Richland Airport , Richland(Washington)