On July 21, 2018, a Douglas DC-3, registration N47HL, was destroyed following an accident near Burnet, Texas. The flight was being operated by the Commemor and Air Force (CAF) as a personal flight, with the intention of traveling to an airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During the takeoff roll, the aircraft experienced a loss of directional control, briefly became airborne, and subsequently entered an aerodynamic stall before impacting the ground.
What happened
Prior to the flight, the pilot and copilot briefed that the copilot would act as the pilot flying while the pilot acted as the pilot monitoring. The copilot had recently completed type rating training and had only two previous flights in this specific aircraft. The aircraft was reported to be at or near its maximum gross weight.
As the takeoff roll commenced on runway 19, the copilot applied forward pressure on the control yoke. Approximately 13 seconds into the roll, the airplane veered to the right. The copilot applied left rudder, but the airplane then swerved to the left. The pilot subsequently took control of the aircraft. During this sequence, the airplane briefly became airborne in a right-wing-low attitude. The pilot attempted to ease the aircraft back down to the runway, but the aircraft experienced a stall, rolled left, and the left wing struck the ground. The right main landing gear collapsed upon impact, and a post-impact fire occurred.
There were 6 serious injuries and 1 minor injury among the crew and passengers. The pilot, crew chief, and four passengers sustained serious injuries, while one passenger sustained minor injuries. The copilot and five passengers were not injured. There were 0 fatalities.