Accident de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter IM-1719,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 331847
 

Date:Saturday 11 May 1968
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic DHC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
Owner/operator:Indian Air Force - IAF
Registration: IM-1719
MSN: 220
Year of manufacture:1958
Total airframe hrs:3256 hours
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off
Category:Accident
Location:near Saharanpur-Sarasawa Air Base -   India
Phase: En route
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Saharanpur-Sarasawa Air Base (VISP)
Destination airport:Saharanpur-Sarasawa Air Base (VISP)
Narrative:
The Otter broke up in flight while being test flown at 4,000 feet in conditions of severe turbulence.

The Court of Inquiry found that structural failure had occurred due to fatigue, as the aircraft had been operated for most of its life under gusty and turbulent conditions.
According to dhc-3archive.com, a DHC technical representative inspected the wreckage. It appeared a wing had broken off, striking the tail. The tail plane then separated. He concluded that "catastrophic damage was incurred due to elevator tab flutter mechanism. Failure of the elevator caused loss of control, which permitted the aircraft to roll or 'bunt' over on its back, causing the wing to break in negative bending with subsequent destruction of the entire empennage and rear fuselage section".

Sources:

dhc-3archive.com
WarbirdsofIndia.com

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org