What happened
Following a local maintenance flight, the crew returned to St. Petersburg to conduct practice full stop landings. During the second takeoff attempt of the session, the right engine suffered a loss of power. The Douglas DC-3 reached an altitude of approximately 50 feet above ground level before veering to the right and impacting the terrain east of the runway.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the aircraft was not in an airworthy condition, as it had not complied with all necessary requirements of an approved inspection program. A mechanical issue was identified involving a malfunctioning right fuel tank selector valve. This defect allowed fuel to bypass the intended path and leak into other tanks. Specifically, when the aircraft remained parked with the left wing low for roughly 12 hours, fluid from the right tank would migrate into the left tank. At the time of the incident, the left tanks held approximately 175 gallons of fuel, while both right tanks were empty.
Regarding flight operations, the pilot-in-command had limited recent experience, having served as pilot-in-command for only five hours in this aircraft type over the previous five months. The co-pilot had no recorded training in the Douglas DC-3. The investigation concluded that the accident involved a combination of factors, including inadequate maintenance, improper emergency procedures by the pilot-in-command, and insufficient recent experience in the aircraft type.