ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 3576
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| Date: | Sunday 20 February 1972 |
| Time: | 10:32 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft B80 Queen Air |
| Owner/operator: | Sun Valley Airlines |
| Registration: | N1027C |
| MSN: | LD-309 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Fairfield, ID -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Hailey-Friedman Memorial Airport, Idaho |
| Boise, ID | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Sun Valley Airlines Flight 115, a Beech 65B-80, N1027C, departed Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho, at 10:17 MST with one pilot and four passengers, for a scheduled air taxi flight to Boise, Idaho.
The pilot was also the company’s President. The nonrevenue passenger was the company’s Director of Maintenance, and occupied the right cockpit seat. The purpose of his travel was to perform maintenance on one of the company’s
aircraft in Boise. At takeoff, the aircraft carried about 160 gallons of fuel; its gross weight and center of gravity were within authorized limits.
Four minutes after takeoff, the pilot contacted the Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center and requested an IFR clearance VFR on top direct to Boise. The flight was cleared as requested, and the pilot acknowledged the clearance. This was the flight’s last recorded transmission.
At approximately 1030, the attention of several persons located 1 to 3 miles north and northeast of Fairfield, Idaho, was attracted by unusual engine sounds. Subsequently, a witness saw a wing and an engine separate from the fuselage.
Most witnesses did not observe fire or smoke until the in-flight breakup started, with what was described as a “small explosion.’’ Ground impact of the fuselage was followed by a postcrash fire. There were no survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an uncontrolled fire in the left wheel well which resulted in loss of structural integrity of the left wingspars. The wheelwell fire resulted
from an uncontained fire in the engine compartment which, in turn, was initiated by separation of one of the engine cylinders due to the use of improper maintenance procedures. Excessive working hours may have contributed to the oversight by the maintenance personnel involved.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 28-Mar-2012 12:00 | harro | Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2015 19:34 | wf | Updated [Location, Phase, Source] |
| 24-Feb-2020 21:13 | harro | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 17-Nov-2022 08:00 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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