1950 – Sep 4, Robinson Air #32 takeoff engine failure and crash, Oneida County Airport, Utica, NY–16
— 16 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 09041950.
— 16 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Robinson Airlines, 4 Sep 1950.
— 16 CAB. AIR. Robinson Airlines Near Utica, New York, September 4, 1950.
Narrative Information
Civil Aeronautics Board, Accident Investigation Report: “At approximately 1410, 1 September 4, 1950, a Robinson Airlines, Incorporated aircraft, a DC-3, N-18936, Flight 32, crashed 1.5 miles southeast of the Oneida County Airport, Utica, New York. Of the twenty-three occupants, sixteen were fatally injured, including the three crew members. The aircraft was destroyed.
“Flight 32 departed Ithaca, New York, at 1131, on September 4, 1950, for Newark, New Jersey, via Syracuse and Utica New York….
“At 1408, the flight departed from Utica….Approximately 3000 feet from the point of take-off parts were observed falling from the left engine and the aircraft made a shallow turn to the left. At this time, the left propeller appeared to be fully feathered. The flight continued in a left turn, slowly losing altitude until it struck a grove of trees 1.5 miles south-east of the airport….Following impact with the trees, the fuel tanks ruptured causing a fire which consumed the fuselage. Sixteen of the occupants were fatally injured and seven seriously injured. The survivors escaped either through broken windows on the right side, or the right rear escape hatch….
“…the left engine failed due to a cracked piston pin and the propeller was feathered; however, the aircraft did not maintain single engine flight, notwithstanding the fact that the right engine was found to be capable of normal operation.
“It is probable that at the time the left engine failed, the aircraft had attained single engine climb speed and normally could have continued to climb at the rate of approximately 460 feet per minute, but since the left engine was uncowled, the normal rate of climb would be reduced to approximately 160 feet per minute. However, the aircraft did not have a positive rate of climb and continued to lose altitude; therefore, another factor must have contributed to the loss of altitude.
“The most reasonable explanation for the loss of altitude is that the right engine was not developing the rated take-off horsepower because the propeller was set in the high pitch position. With the propeller in high pitch and the left engine uncowled, the rate of climb would be approximately minus 200 feet per minute. It is improbable that impact forces would have moved the propeller from the low pitch position to the high pitch position, so that it is reasonable to conclude that the right propeller was at this position during the flight. The Board has no evidence of when or how the right propeller was set in the high pitch position, as conceivably it could have been done inadvertently at the time of the emergency but the condition not recognized in time to take the necessary corrective motion….
“The Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the left engine shortly after take-off, coupled with increased drag due to loss of left engine cowling and reduced power output of the right engine because the right propeller was in the high pitch position.” (CAB. AIR. Robinson Airlines Near Utica, New York, September 4, 1950.)
AirDisaster.com: “The aircraft hit trees on climb-out from Utica Airport after suffering an engine failure.” (AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 09041950.)
Sources
AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 09041950. Accessed at:
http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=09041950®=N18936&airline=
Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Robinson Airlines, 4 Sep 1950. Accessed 2-10-2009 at:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500904-0
Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. Robinson Airlines Near Utica, New York, September 4, 1950. Washington, DC: CAB, May 23, 1951, 9 pages. Accessed 8-22-2023 at: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33400