1985 — Dec 31, Century Equip. C-47 Plane Fire/Crash (Ricky Nelson), near DeKalb, TX– 7

— 7  Baugher. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-91974 to 42-110188). 10-28-2011 rev.

— 7  NTSB. Aircraft Accident/Incident Summary Reports (NTSB/AAR-87/02/SUM). 6-30-1987.

 

Narrative Information

 

Baugher: “Douglas C-47A-25-DK Skytrain….108981 (c/n 13658) by 1954 was PP-YPB of S. A. Transportes Aeros REAL.  On civil registry as N711Y with Century Equipment. Crashed near DeKalb, TX Dec 31, 1985 due to inflight fire in cabin under floor.  7 out 9 onboard killed, including singer/actor Ricky Nelson.”  (Baugher. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-91974 to 42-110188). 10-28-2011 rev.)

 

NTSB:

File No.:                      DCA-86-AA-012

Aircraft Operator:       Rick Nelson

Registered Owner:      Century Equipment, Inc.

Aircraft Type:                         Douglas DC-3

Aircraft Registration:  N711Y

Location:                     Near DeKalb, Texas

Date:                           December 31, 1985

Time:                           1714 central standard time

Persons on Board:       9

Injuries:                       7 fatal, 2 serious

Aircraft Damage:        Destroyed

Other Damage:            Minor property damage

Type of Occurrence:   Fire

Phase of Operation:    Inflight

 

“On December 31, 1985, about 1300, a Douglas DC-3 (N711Y) registered to Century Equipment Company and operated by entertainer Rick Nelson, departed Guntersville, Alabama, on an instrument flight rules flight plan to Love Field in Dallas, Texas. The crew had arrived at the Guntersville airport between 0830 and 0900. The airplane was serviced under the direction of the crew, who then loaded the passengers’ personal luggage and musical equipment. About 1240, the crew and passengers boarded N711Y and the airplane taxied for takeoff.

 

“The airplane was occupied by a captain, a copilot, Mr. Rick Nelson, his fiancée, and five members of the Stone Canyon Band. The airplane had been operated-on tours for the entertainers in a series of concert engagements. On December 28, 1985, the airplane, the crew, Mr. Nelson, his fiancée, and the five band members had arrived in Guntersville, where the band performed on

December 29 and 30, 1985. The group was scheduled to perform in Dallas on New Year’s Eve.

 

“At 1708, while operating in daylight visual meteorological conditions, the flight contacted Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center,’ stating, ‘I think I’d like to turn around, uh, head for Texarkana here, I’ve got a little problem.’ Several communications between the airplane and the Center were made regarding the heading and distances to various airports where the flight could land. At 1711, one of the pilots of N711Y transmitted, ‘…smoke in the cockpit, have smoke in the cockpit.’ No further transmissions were received from the flight. At 1712, the air traffic control radar showed an altitude of 600 feet above the ground, and at 1714, radar contact was lost.

 

“Several witnesses observed the final portion of the flight. They stated that the airplane flew a left descending turn from the south and lined up with a farm field in a westerly direction. They all observed smoke trailing from the airplane. Some witnesses observed small grass fires that ignited along the flightpath from falling pieces of hot metal. The airplane flew over a house, struck and severed two power lines about 30 feet above the ground, and then landed gear down in a field.

 

“After the airplane came to rest, the pilot and copilot escaped through their respective cockpit windows. None of the passengers escaped, and the airplane was destroyed by fire. According to witnesses who arrived on scene, the fire was initially centered in the right side of the cabin area, and it then spread and consumed the entire fuselage and cockpit. Portions of the wings, and the vertical and horizontal stabilizers were not destroyed.

 

“The pilots escaped with serious injuries, and the seven passengers died from fire. The Dallas Medical Examiner reported the cause of the passengers’ deaths as smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Toxicological analyses for the pilots were negative for alcohol and drugs.

 

“The twin-engine Douglas DC-3, N711Y, was manufactured and certificated as a military C-47 in 1944. The airplane was equipped with an aft passenger/crew entrance door on the left hand side aft of the wing, wing, and had an emergency exit over each. In 1959, the airplane was converted from a C-47 to a DC-3C and its interior was refurbished and equipped with an executive interior, which included 14 passenger seats (4 single seat units, 2 double seat units, and 2 triple seat divans), and 2 crew seats. The airplane was not pressurized, but contained two supplemental oxygen systems, one for the cockpit crew and one for use by passengers.

 

“The airplane had two gasoline heaters; one for heating the cockpit and one for heating the cabin. The cabin heater was located aft of the lavatory on the right side of the fuselage. Both heaters were controlled from the cockpit. The cabin heater was equipped with two fire extinguishers, which were activated manually from the heater area. A hand-held portable fire extinguisher was located in the cockpit. The airplane was also equipped with engine fire extinguishers.

 

“N711Y was registered on March 13, 1981, to Century Equipment Company of Los Angeles, California. The airplane was sold to Rick Nelson (Eric Hilliard Nelson) on May 2, 1985, but was never re-registered with the FAA as required by regulations.

 

“The Safety Board’s investigation into the events that led to the fire was based primarily on examination of the wreckage of the airplane and statements of the pilots.

 

“Examination of the wreckage eliminated the engines as a cause of the fire. Molten metal globules and charred control surface fabric recovered along the airplane’s flightpath were from the airplane’s aft lower fuselage structure and from the right elevator control surface. Although the fuselage was virtually destroyed by the ground fire, the most severe damage was concentrated on the right side of the aft fuselage above and below the cabin floor. The cabin heater is located in this area. The heater was examined in place and then was removed for detailed examination at the Safety Board’s laboratory….

 

“The captain’s and copilot’s sworn testimonies regarding the events of the flight, particularly regarding the operation of the cabin heater, were contradictory. Their statements also disagreed concerning crew action prior to, and just after, the onset of the fire. The lack of surviving passengers precluded resolution of some of these contradictions.

 

“The captain stated that during the flight he left the cockpit to check on the passengers and see to their needs. He said that while standing in the cabin, he noticed smoke in the area occupied by Mr. Nelson and his fiancée. Instead of investigating that smoke, the pilot stated that he went through the baggage compartment to the cabin heater. He said that the heater fire shield was cool to his touch, and that he saw neither smoke nor fire near the heater. However, he said that he did activate one of the two fire extinguishers attached to the heater. He then left the heater area and moved through the cabin, opening the cabin fresh air inlets on his way back to the cockpit. He said that he directed a passenger to open others. When the captain reached the cockpit and took his seat, he said that the copilot had already begun communications with air traffic control relative to the location of the nearest airports. The captain opened his cockpit window, after which, he said ‘things rapidly got worse…I started a slow descending turn…and the window was open, and from there, things went completely blacked out. The smoke came through the cabin… it stained the windows, the cockpit glass, everything…’

 

“The captain stated that vision inside the cockpit was so badly obscured that he could not see through the forward windows to land the airplane. He leaned through the opened cockpit window to obtain sufficient visual references to select a landing site, achieve the desired pitch attitude, and land the airplane.

 

“He said that after the airplane rolled to a stop, he exited the airplane through his cockpit window. He said that he opened the aft passenger entrance door and ascended the stairs to look into the cabin. He said that he could see in the smoke and that there was a small flame or fire in the area where he had originally seen smoke when he visited the cabin earlier. The passengers did not respond to his calls so he abandoned the airplane to search outside for his employer and the other passengers.

 

“In contrast, the copilot testified that after the flight was airborne, the cabin heater began to ‘act up.’ He said that the overheat light would come on in the cockpit, the crew would turn the heater off, wait for awhile, and then turn the heater back on again. According to the copilot, ‘At some point…Brad (the captain) decided to go aft of the tail to see if there was anything he could do to get it to function correctly… there were several times involved here…he signaled for me to turn it on or he…came up front and told me to turn it on or whatever. This happened several times. One of the times I refused to turn it on, I didn’t turn it on. I was getting nervous. I didn’t think that we should be messing with that heater en route. I had discussed this with Brad on previous flights… and he turned it on again… Once, again, it either shut off or the overheat light came on, (it) went through the same cycle…The last time Brad went aft in the tail, he was aft for not very long, came out and signaled me to turn it on again, which I did. Several minutes after that, (a passenger)… came forward to me and said, ‘There is smoke back here in the cabin.”‘ The captain subsequently returned to the cockpit.

 

“After the airplane landed, the copilot stated that he opened the right cockpit window, exited through it, and fell to the ground below. He said ‘My engine (the right engine) had stopped turning, there was no flame on the outside of the airplane on my side, on the right side of the aircraft… The cabin of the aircraft through the windows appeared to be an inferno. flames and smoke was all that one could see.’ The copilot moved away from the airplane, fearing an explosion. He encountered the captain, who sat him on the ground, and the captain said, ‘Don’t tell anyone about the heater, don’t tell anyone about the heater…’

 

“While it could not be established that the fire originated in the cabin heater, there is no doubt that the fire did originate in the area of the heater. If the copilot’s statement about the repeated attempts to relight the cabin heater are accurate, then the captain’s repeated attempts to trouble-shoot and relight the heater apparently resulted in a fire in the area of the heater.

 

“There were other potential ignition sources in the area of the heater, such as airplane electrical wires; however, after examination of these systems, none could be identified as having ignited the fire.

 

“The evidence was equally inconclusive regarding whether the fire originated in the cabin. If the captain’s statement about the initial sighting of the smoke, and later fire, near passengers on the right side of the cabin is accurate, then careless smoking or other activity in the cabin may have started the fire. In the absence of corroborating evidence, the Safety Board was unable to determine the source of ignition.

 

“It was quite evident that the captain did not use appropriate methods for the control of the fire once it began. For example, the inflight fire checklist was not used–it required fresh air vents to be closed, and the captain opened them. It also called for the flightcrew and passengers to begin using supplemental oxygen, which was not done. Nor did the flightcrew initiate actions to fight the fire with the hand-held fire extinguisher available to them in the cockpit. While these actions, if taken in a timely manner, may not have prevented the loss of the airplane, they would have enhanced the potential for survival of the passengers….” (National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident/Incident Summary Reports (NTSB/AAR-87/02/SUM). Washington, DC: NTSB. 6-30-1987, pp. 29-34.)

 

Sources

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-91974 to 42-110188). Oct 28, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-17-2011 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_5.html

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident/Incident Summary Reports (NTSB/AAR-87/02/SUM). Washington, DC: NTSB. 6-30-1987, 48 p. Accessed 1-22-2017 at: http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-summaries/AAR87-02S.pdf