The Air Tahoma Convair 580 freighter that crashed in Ohio on 1 September was conducting its first flight following a C check, part of which included flight-control cable rigging, say investigators.
The aircraft had been operating a post-maintenance check and training flight from Columbus Rickenbacker airport to Mansfield, Ohio, but 1min after departure from Runway 5L, the crew requested a return. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to land on the same runway but it crashed into a cornfield at 12:06, 3min after beginning its take-off roll, killing all three crew members on board.
During the attempted return to the airport, they had advised air traffic control that emergency equipment was not required.
While the US National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident, it has released preliminary information that confirms the aircraft was flying for the first time since undergoing a C check.
It states that this work "included flight-control cable rigging as part of the check", although the NTSB has not said whether this bears any relevance to the accident.
The 52-year-old Convair struck the ground, on a southerly heading, about 1.6km (1nm) south-west of the approach end to Runway 5L.
Marks in the corn indicate that the undercarriage had been lowered, and that the aircraft was on a glide path of about 10°, with its right wing slightly down, at the point of impact.
From this point the debris field stretched about 200m (665ft) to a tree line, and the main wreckage was a further 50m south. Both flight recorders were retrieved from the wreckage and the information they contain is undergoing analysis.
Source: Flight International
