1980 — March 27, Lufkin Inc., Beechcraft plane crash (icing), fire, near Parker, CO — 10

–10  AP. “Air crash kills 10.” Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs, CO, 3-29-1980,, 4A.

–10  NTSB. AAR. Lufkin Industries…Beechcraft… near Parker, Colorado, March 27, 1980, p. i.

–10  NTSB. Safety Recommendation(s) A-82-94; to Federal Aviation Admin., 8-20-1982.

–10  UPI. “Crash in snowstorm…10 dead.” The News, Port Arthur, Texas, 3-28-1980, 4B.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Abstract: “About 1452 mountain standard time, on March 27, 1980, a Beechcraft Super King Air, 3E-200, N456L, owned and operated by Lufkin Industries, Incorporated, of Lufkin, Texas,[1] crashed and burned in an open field near Parker, Colorado. The flight had departed Arapahoe County Airport, Colorado, at 1434:15 for a flight to Lufkin. About 9 1/2 minutes after departure, the pilots of N456L declared an emergency because of airframe icing. The aircraft was being vectored to land at Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, when it crashed into an open field about 13 miles east of Arapahoe County Airport. The two pilots and eight passengers on board were killed in the crash and subsequent ground fire.[2] The aircraft was  destroyed.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the rapid accumulation of ice on the underwing surface aft of the deicing boots which destroyed the aircraft’s capability to maintain level flight because the flightcrew: failed to obtain a current weather briefing before departure; failed to make a timely decision to discontinue the climb and return to Arapahoe Airport; and operated the over-gross-weight aircraft at high angles of attack in severe icing conditions.”[3] (p. i.)

 

NTSB Synopsis: “….According to National Weather Service observations, the weather in the Denver area about the time of the accident indicated instrument meteorological conditions with snow, surface temperatures near 32° F, and moisture extending from the surface through 18,000 feet. An in-flight weather advisory (SIGMET) forecasting moderate to severe icing was in effect for the area at the time of the accident…..” (p. 1)

 

NTSB Factual Information, History of the Flight: “….About 1330, the flightcrew returned from lunch and instructed the ramp employee to begin deicing the aircraft. The ramp employee brushed the snow off the as very wet and said it came off the aircraft easily leaving a beaded film of water. The aircraft’s wings and tail surfaces in the presence of the flightcrew. He described the snow flightcrew declined the ramp employee’s offer to spray the aircraft with deicer fluid. The ramp employee estimated that 1 to 2 inches of snow remained on the upper fuselage from the aircraft. the cockpit back to the vertical fin. None of the ramp personnel saw the pilots preflight the aircraft.

 

“The passengers arrived and began to board the aircraft about 1410, The ramp employee stated that he observed the pilots surveying the passengers and overheard the captain remark to the copilot that they were going to “have to burn off 10 to 15 gallons of fuel during the taxi;” the first officer concurred….” (p. 2.)

 

NTSB at section 1.12, Wreckage and Impact Information: “The aircraft wreckage was located in Elbert County, Colorado, 15 statute miles east of the approach end of runway 28 at the Arapahoe County Airport, about 3 14 statute miles southeast of the approach end of runway 32 to Buckley Air National scattered on rolling, snow-covered range land. The aircraft’s initial ground impact was at Guard Base, and about 22 statute miles southeast of Stapleton Airport. The wreckage was an elevation of 6,280 feet and the aircraft came to rest at an elevation of 6,270 feet…” (p. 9.)

 

“Examination of the initial impact point indicated that the aircraft struck snow-covered level ground in a slight nose-high and wings-level attitude. The aircraft came to rest 465 feet from the initial impact point… The entire wreckage was confined to an area of about 465 feet wide…. The entire fuselage interior was gutted by fire. There was no evidence of preexisting structural damage. All fractures observed were typical of those caused by overloads….” (p. 11.)

 

NTSB section 1.14, Fire: “About 1515, a pickup truck topped a hill near the accident site and the two occupants saw the aircraft in the open field. The witnesses indicated that there were no visible flames but that there was a lot of smoke from the front section of the plane. They immediately left the scene to notify authorities and to summon help. Upon their return to the accident site with others, about 1530, the witnesses observed flames coming from the right front of the aircraft where only the smoke had been before. The flames were observed to be just above the roof of the aircraft. Some of the witnesses approached the aircraft and observed that the interior was filled with thick black smoke. No exit was obvious to them on the right (east) side of the plane, which was free of smoke. One of the witnesses broke out the right rear cabin window on the fuselage to determine if there were any signs of life inside. No movement was observed nor were there sounds heard from inside. The smoke on the left (west) side was too dense for the witnesses to approach that side. After a loud “popping” sound, all of the witnesses moved away from the wreckage to a safe distance. All of the witnesses agreed that the fire appeared to start in the area of the cockpit and then move gradually back toward the rear of the aircraft.” (p. 12.)

 

NTSB section 1.15, Survival Aspects: “….The accident was classified as partially survivable because (a) the occupiable area in the cabin and cockpit remained comparatively intact as evidenced by the relative positions of the occupied seats; (b) the impact forces were at or just below the failure limits of the occupant restraint system and within human tolerance; and (c) the

toxicological report indicated that five of the occupants were alive after impact and inhaled lethal levels of carbon monoxide or cyanide, or both.” (p. 13.)

 

NTSB section 2, Analysis: “2.1 General…The circumstances of this accident suggest two possible areas of causation — power loss and airframe icing. The analysis of the aircraft’s performance during the flight, based on the radar-derived ground track and flight profile, revealed a definite loss of performance either from a lack of power or from aerodynamic factors,

including the loss of lift and increased drag.” (p. 19.) (NTSB. AAR. Lufkin Industries, Inc., Beechcraft Super King Air…near Parker, Colorado, March 27, 1980. 8-15-1982.)

 

Newspapers

 

March 28: “Denver (AP) — All 10 persons aboard died Thursday when a twin-engine airplane crashed shortly after leaving Arapahoe County Airport during a snow-storm, officials said….The 11-seat plane was reported owned by Lufkin Industries, as oil-well pumping-unit manufacturer from Lufkin, Texas. It had left the Arapahoe County Airport bound for Texas, according to the airport’s records….” (AP. “Air crash kills 10.” Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs, CO, 3-29-1980, 4A.)

 

March 28: “Aurora, Col. (UPI) — A company plane crashed in a remote field during a snowstorm only five minutes after takeoff, killing three employees of a Lufkin, Texas, company and seven Denver-area customers….

 

“Among those killed in the crash were john Poland, 29, of Littleton, Colo., the manager of Lufkin Industries’ Rocky Mountain division and son of Lufkin President R. L. Poland. Pilots Ray Fisher, 51, and Charles Gilstrap, 47, both of Lufkin, also were killed along with seven Denver-area executives of oil companies that buy Lufkin Industries’ oilfield pumping units.  The oil company officials were identified as Ron Pagliasotti, 34, of Kenneth Luf and Associates; Dan Bolding of Exeter Co.; Larry Gallagher of Diamond Shamrock; Ed Gartland of Davis Oil; Bob Easter of Petro Lewis Co.; Jon Stanzione, 58, of Browlie-Wallace-Armstrong and Bander Oil Co.; and Jack W. Rogers of Tenneco Oil.” (UPI. “Crash in snowstorm leaves at least 10 dead.” The News, Port Arthur, Texas, 3-28-1980, 4B.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Air crash kills 10.” Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs, CO, 3-29-1980, 4A. Accessed 6-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph-mar-28-1980-p-4/?tag

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Lufkin Industries, Inc., Beechcraft Super King Air, BE-200, N456L, near Parker, Colorado, March 27, 1980 (NTSB-AAR-82-9). Washington DC: NTSB, 8-14-1982, 36 pages. Accessed 6-25-2017 at: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR82-09.pdf

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Safety Recommendation(s) A-82-94; to Federal Aviation Admin., 8-20-1982, 4 pages. Accessed 6-25-2017 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A82_94.pdf

 

United Press International. “Crash in snowstorm leaves at least 10 dead.” The News, Port Arthur, Texas, 3-28-1980, 4B. Accessed 6-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-mar-28-1980-p-16/?tag

[1] Operated as a corporate-executive aircraft under 14 CFR 91. (p. 1.)

[2] In Conclusions section at point 17 it is noted that “The fire, which destroyed the aircraft, occurred after impact and did not reach the cabin interior until about one-half hour after the aircraft came to rest.” At point 20 it is written that “Five of the 10 occupants, including the pilot, survived the impact but succumbed to the effects of the postcrash fire.” (p. 25)

[3] In Conclusions section, p. 24, it is noted that “The flightcrew exceed the maximum allowable aircraft takeoff gross weight by about 600 pounds…the overweight condition and speeds of 140 KIAS or less required high angles of attack that led to ice accretions on the airfoil surfaces aft of the deicing boots.”