Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Date: | Friday 14 September 1979 |
Time: | 20:47 |
Type: | Douglas DC-7 |
Operator: | Butler Aircraft Company |
Registration: | N4SW |
MSN: | 44287/538 |
First flight: | 1954 |
Total airframe hrs: | 21025 |
Engines: | 4 Wright R-3350 |
Crew: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
Total: | Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
Location: | 39 km (24.4 mls) NW of Klamath Falls, OR ( United States of America)
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Crash site elevation: | 1951 m (6401 feet) amsl |
Phase: | En route (ENR) |
Nature: | Executive |
Departure airport: | Klamath Falls-Kingsley Field, OR (LMT/KLMT), United States of America |
Destination airport: | Medford (unknown airport), OR, United States of America |
Flightnumber: | 69 |
Narrative:DC-7 "Tanker 69" departed Redmond, OR a company business flight to Medford, OR, with an en route stop at Klamath Falls, OR.
The aircraft struck trees on the crest of Surveyor Mountain and crashed. The aircraft departed Redmond for Klamath Falls about 19:45 and arrived there at 20:29. Two passengers enplaned and the aircraft departed runway 14 at Klamath Falls at 20:40.The aircraft struck trees on the crest of the 6400 feet high Surveyor Mountain about 7 minutes after takeoff.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The flight crew's decision to undertake a direct point-to-point high-cruise-speed flight at low altitude. The crew's judgment in the selection of a low-altitude flight profile may have been influenced by their familiarity with the terrain."
Accident investigation:
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Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 270 days (9 months) | Accident number: | NTSB/AAR-80-09 | Download report: | Final report
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Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» NTSB-AR-80-09
Photos
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.