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1 R ., b'. - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240).., . DEPARTMENT OF COM%EICE. National Technical Information Service .. ,.. NrISUB/D/104-0a6. ~~..~. ~. Aircraft Accident Report - 1. company , Convair 248, N55. Gillsburg, Mississippi, October 20, 1977. US. National Ttnnsportafion Safety Board, Washington, D C. J. 19 Jun 78. , .. I. i ! .. I..- .. __. I. I. rT. 1- -?-- - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240). i I'. i i . /.. i 2 , , I , , . 1. r- ". - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240). TECHNICAL Report W C U M E N T A T I O N PAGE.

2 NO. Accession No, 3 , R e c i p i e n t ' s Catalog NO. NTSH-MR-I8-6. n i t l e and S u b t i t l e Aircrafc A c c i d c n t K e p c r t -- Date June 19, 1978. L h J company , C o n v a i r 240, N 5 S W . C i l l s b u r g , N i s s i s s i p p i , O c t o b e r 20, 1977 organization Code 7. Authorts) Organization Report No. 9. P e r f o r m i n g P r g a n i z a t i c n Name and Address Unit No. 2365. N a t i o n a l T r a n s p o r t a t i o n S a f e t y Board Burcay of A c c i d e n t I n v e s t i g a t i o n l I . C o n t r a c 1 o r Grant No. Washington, 20594. - Agency Name and Address A i r c r a f t A c c i d e n t IlGpnrt October 20, 1977.

3 NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD. Washington. 0 . C. 20594. I--- 1 5 . S u p p l e y n f a r y Nbtes Ab 1 stract About 1R52 c . d . t . , on O c t c b e r 20, 1977, a C o n v a i r 2 4 0 , N5S\J?1, owned and opcraLed by L h J Compagy and t r n n s p o r t i n f i ihc Lynyrd Skynyrd Band Crom C r c e n v i l l e , S c u t h C a r o l i n a , t o $aton Iloup,c, t o u i s i n n a , cr;i.;hed 5 milos n o r t h e a s t a: G i l l s b u r g . Mississippi. Thcre were 24 passongcrs and 2 crcwmcmbers on b o a r d the a i r c r i t f t . l'he 2 cmw- mcmbers and 4 of t h , passCngeK5 were k i l l e d ; 20 o t h e r s were injure<'.

4 The a i r c r a f t was d e s t r o y e d b y lmpnct; t h e r e was no f i r e . T h c f l i g h t had r c p o r t r d t o t h e Houston ,',iF Koutc Traffic C o n t r o l C e n t e r t h a t i t was "low on furl" ,and r e q u e s t e d r a d a r V e c t o r s t o McComb, The Iaircraft c r a s h e d i n a heavily wooded area d u r i n x an a t t e m p t e d rmergcncy l a n d i n g . The N a t i o n a l T r a n s p o r t a t i o n S a f e t y Roard dctermincs t k a t t h e p r o b a b l e cause of t h i s a c c l d t m t US Cucl v x l u u s t i a n and total l o a s of po.~eri r o n b o t h k n g i n r s duo t u crew i n n t t r n t i o n tu f u e l C a n t r i b u t i n l : t o t h e Carl c x h n u s t i o n were i n a d e q u o t c f l i g h t planning and nn e n g i n e = I f u n c t i o n of u n d e t e r m i n e d n a t u r e I n t h e r i g h t encine w h i c h r c s u l t c d i n I~1!

5 ,~~~--ihi~~~-norm;ll f u c l ~c o n s u n p t i n n . ___. 1 7 . Key Words -- F l i g h t planning; f u e l consumption: pcwer loss; fuel e x h a u s t i o n ; l e a s e n g r e c m e n t s ; o p e r a t i o n a l control. tion Scrvice, Springfield, (of t h i s r e p o r t ) (of t h i s page). UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 26. NTSB Form (Rev. 9/74) ! ~. ', i i B I. - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240).. - .. I. TABLE OF CONTENTS. i I. Page I. 1 Synopsis .. 1. 1 . Factual Information .. 2. History of the Flight .. 2. Injuries to Persons .. 3. Damage to Aircraft .. 3. OtherDamage.

6 3. Aircraft Information .. 3. Meteorological Information .. 3. Aids to Navigation .. 4. Communications .. 4. and Ground Facilities .. 4. Flight Recorders .. 4. Xreckage and Impact Information .. 4. Medical and Pathological Information .. 6. Fire .. 6. Survival Aspects .. 6. Tests and Research .. 8. Carburecors .. 8. Propeller GOVeKnOKs and Blade Angles .. 8. Magnetos and .. 9. Distributors .. 9. Fuel Pumps and Gages .. 10. Additional Infrrmation .. 11. Aircraft Fuel ConsumptLon .. 11. j' LeasingData .. 12. New Investigativi Techniques .. 12. 2. Analysis .. 13. 3. Conclusions .. 15. Findings .. 15. Probable Cause.

7 16. 4. Safety Recommendations .. 16. 5. Appendixes .. 17. Appendix A - Investigation .. 17. Appendix B - Personnel Informntion .. 18. Appendix C - Aircraft Informatio? .. 19. Appendix D - Wrfckage Djstribution and Location Charts .. 20. Appendix E - Lease Agreement .. 21. ii ..- .. - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240). NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ROARD. IJASIIINGTON, 20594. Aircraft Accident REPOKT. Adopted: June 19, 1978 -- . ! - L & J company . CONVAIR 2 4 0 , N55'C-I. GILLSBURG, IIZSSISSIPPI. OCTOBER 20, 1977. SYNOPSIS. About on October 20, 1977, R Cacvair 240 (N55VM).

8 Owned and operated by L 6 J company and transporting the Lynjrrd Skynyrd ! Band from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed I. 5 miles northeast of Cillsburg, Mississippi. \..: I. There were 2 4 passengers and 2 crewmembers on board the The 2 crewnembers and 4 of the passengers were killed; 20 others were injured. The Aircraft was destroyed by impact; there was no fire. The flight had reported to the I!ouston Air Route Traffic Control Center that it was "low on i u c l " and requested radar vectors to McComb, Elisstssippi~. The Aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area an attempted emergency landing.

9 Si',' The National Transportation Safety Board determines that tile probable cause of this Accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention t o fuel supply. Contrlbuting to the fuel exhaustion were lnadcquate Flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature i n the right: engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption.., ..~ , ! .. ~. - NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash (1977 Convair 240). 1 r - 2 - 1. FAClTAL INFORMATLON - H i s t o r y of t h e F l i g h t On October 20, 1977, L & J, company Convair 240 (N55VM) operated as a c h a r t e r f l i g h t t o t r a n s p o r t t h e Lynyrd Skynyrd Band from G r e e n v i l l e , South C a r o l i n a , t o Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

10 The a i r c r a f t was owned by L & J company of Addison, Texas, and t h e f l i g h t c r e w was employed by Falcon A v i a t i o n of Addison. A lease agreement had been e n t e r e d i n t o by Lynyrd Skynyrd P r o d u c t i o n s , I n c . , and t h e I. b J company f o r t h e p e r i o d Octoher 11, 1977, t o November 2 , 1977. A t 0430 1 1 on October 18, N 5 5 W had a r r i v e d a t t h e G r e e n v i l l e Downtown A i r p o r t , G r e e n v i l l e , South C a r o l i n a , from Lakeland, F l o r i d a . Nhile on t h e &round a t GreenviLle, t h e a i r c r a f t had been . r e f u e l e d w i t h 400 g a l l o n s of 100- octane, low-lead f u e l.