Stinson 10A accident at Fort Worth, Texas, 11 Sept 1943

Accident narrative

On September 11, 1943, a Stinson 10A crashed during a practice flight at the Municipal Airport in Fort Worth, Texas. The two pilots, Robert Ernest Hallman and James Allison Young, were seriously injured, and the aircraft was extensively damaged.

The flight departed at about 6:00 p.m. with Hallman at the controls. Both men held commercial and flight instructor ratings; Hallman had approximately 1,021 solo hours. During a shallow climbing turn at an altitude of approximately 200 feet, the engine stopped. Facing scattered construction equipment, ditches, and houses, the pilot attempted to reach a landing area east of a newly constructed runway. The aircraft landed short among large boulders, struck a bank, and nosed over into an inverted position.

The investigation revealed sufficient water in the carburetor bowl to cause the engine stoppage, and no other reason for the failure was found. The aircraft’s shallow 20-gallon right wing tank allowed a relatively large amount of water to accumulate undetected before moving into the feed line during level flight. Additionally, because of the airplane's attitude on the ground, the tank could only be drained by removing a 1/8-inch pipe plug with a wrench. The Civil Aeronautics Administration subsequently recommended that the manufacturer install a more practical drain and issue a directive to owners regarding the change and the need for frequent water checks.

The Board determined the probable cause of this accident was "engine stoppage, due to water in the fuel system, following take-off over terrain unsuitable for a safe landing."