ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13527
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| Date: | Thursday 5 December 1974 |
| Time: | 15:30 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30-160 Twin Comanche B |
| Owner/operator: | Red Crow Inc. |
| Registration: | N123RC |
| MSN: | 30-878 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Graford, Palo Pinto County, Texas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Lea County Regional Airport, Hobbs, New Mexico (HOB/KHOB) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW/KDFW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) December 5, 1974 when crashed near Graford, Palo Pinto County, Texas (at approximate Coordinates: 32°56′17″N 98°14′52″W): Pilot advised VFR flight not recommended before and during flight. Weather was appropriate to flying in IFR conditions. Aircraft was en route between Hobbs, New Mexico and Dallas, Texas. Both persons on board (pilot and one passenger) were killed. According to the following excerpt from the official NTSB report into the accident:
"PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS - SPATIAL DISORIENTATION
FACTOR(S)
WEATHER - RAIN - FOG"
There were subsequent legal appeal cases over the inheritance of the estates and life insurance policies of the two deceased - named in legal documents as "Byron McKnight, who was the pilot and his wife, Amelda Ann McKnight, who was the passenger. (see links #4 and #5). A brief extract from the legal case was as follows:
"Amelda Ann McKnight was a passenger in an airplane flown by Byron McKnight, her husband, when the plane crashed on December 5, 1974. Both were killed. Thereafter, James Lewis Robertson, as executor of Amelda Ann's estate, sued the estate of Byron McKnight for wrongful death in the Travis County District Court. Judgment was rendered in that suit, and ultimately appealed to this court. This court dealt with an interspousal immunity question and remanded the cause for a trial on the merits on the basis that New Mexico law on interspousal immunity should be applied.
A motion for rehearing was then filed by McKnight's estate. Before the motion was acted on by this court, the parties settled...also had a declaratory judgment suit pending before the court. Ranger sought a declaration that it was not liable under its insurance contract with Byron McKnight."
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: FTW75AF037 at https://ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=42982&key=0
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=123RC
3. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/tx/N123RC/
4. https://casetext.com/case/ranger-ins-co-v-robertson-1
5. http://www.lawcitations.com/case/n/byron-mcknight
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 05-Feb-2017 18:28 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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