1978 — Aug 30, Las Vegas Airlines Flight 44 crash after takeoff, North Las Vegas, NV– 10
–10 Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Nevada.
–10 Flight Safety Foundation. Aviation Safety Network. “ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13573.”
–10 NTSB. AAR. Las Vegas Airlines Piper…Las Vegas, Nevada August 30, 1978. 1979, p. i.
Narrative Information
NTSB Abstract: “About 0747 p. d. t., on August 30 1978, Las Vegas Airlines Flight 44, a Piper PA-31-350 (N44LV), crashed in VFR conditions [visual flight rules] shortly after takeoff from runway 25 at the North Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada. Flight 44 was a charter flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Santa Ana, California, with nine passengers and a pilot on board. After liftoff following a longer-than-normal ground roll, the aircraft pitched nose up, climbed steeply to about 400 ft above the ground, stalled, reversed course, and crashed 1,150 ft beyond and 650 ft to the right of the runway. There was no fire. All persons on board the aircraft were killed.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that th probable cause of the accident was the baked out elevator down-stop bolt that limited down elevator travel and made in impossible for the pilot to prevent a pitchup and stall after takeoff. The Board was not able to determine conclusively how the down-stop bolt jam nut-locking device came loose and allowed the stop bolt to back out.”
Sources
Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Nevada. Accessed 3-9-2009 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Nevada.htm
Flight Safety Foundation. Aviation Safety Network. “ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13573.” Accessed 9-23-2021 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/13573
National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Las Vegas Airlines Piper PA-31-350, N44LV, Las Vegas, Nevada August 30, 1978. Washington: United States Government, 6-7-1979 report adoption date. Accessed 9-23-2021 at: https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR79-08.pdf