Accident Douglas C-53 (DC-3) N51071,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 328974

Date:	Tuesday 13 December 1977
Time:	19:22
Type:	Douglas C-53 (DC-3)
Owner/operator:	Air Indiana
Registration:	N51071
MSN:	4837
Year of manufacture:	1941
Total airframe hrs:	19777 hours
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 29 / Occupants: 29
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV) - United States of America
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV/KEVV)
Destination airport:	Nashville Metropolitan Airport, TN (BNA/KBNA)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Douglas DC-3, N51071, operated as a passenger charter flight to transport the University of Evansville basketball team and associated personnel from Evansville, Indiana, to Nashville, Tennessee. The aircraft departed runway 18 in instrument meteorological conditions. The plane crashed less than 1 minute 30 seconds after takeoff. All 29 persons aboard died in the crash.
The aircraft was operated by National Jet Services, which was doing business as Air Indiana.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "An attempted take-off with the rudder and right aileron control locks installed, in combination with a rearward centre of gravity, which resulted in the aircraft's rotating to a nose-high attitude immediately after take-off, and entering the region of reversed command from which the pilot was unable to recover. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the flight crew to ensure that the passenger baggage was loaded in accordance with the configuration contained on the load manifest. Their failure resulted in a rearward centre of gravity that was aft of the optimum range, but forward of the rearmost limit."

Accident investigation: