What happened
On the night of the accident, Flight 542 departed Houston with a delay of approximately 22 minutes due to a mechanical issue involving the number 3 generator. The aircraft, a N9705C, was carrying a total of 34 persons, including a crew of six. Before departing, maintenance personnel had interchanged the number 3 and number 4 voltage regulators to address the generator discrepancy noted upon arrival in Houston.
The flight departed Houston at 2244, climbing through various altitudes as instructed by air traffic control. The aircraft was operating under instrument flight rules, initially cleared to 2,300 feet before being instructed to climb to 9,000 feet. After passing the Gulf Coast intersection, the crew received clearance to climb to a cruising altitude of 15,000 feet for the remainder of the trip to Dallas.
During the flight, the crew communicated with company radio to report their progress and relayed maintenance requests. They noted that while the generators were functioning, there had been insufficient time to insulate the terminal strip on the number 3 propeller during the delay in Houston. They also reported an inoperative number 3 sump pump. The final communication from the aircraft was logged at 2307.
At approximately 2309, while en route toward the Trinidad intersection, the aircraft suffered a catastrophic structural failure. The wreckage was discovered near Buffalo, Texas, roughly 19.7 miles north of the Leona omni station. The impact resulted in 34 fatalities, with no survivors among the passengers or crew.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the destruction of the aircraft was caused by a structural failure of the left wing. This failure was triggered by intense forces produced by an undampened propeller whirl mode.