NTSB Preliminary Report on this accident
NTSB Identification: FTW04FA052
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, January 01, 2004 in Dallas, TX
Aircraft: Bellanca 17-30A, registration: N4104B
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On January 1, 2004, at 1004 central standard time, a Bellanca 17-30A single-engine airplane, N4104B, registered to, and operated by a private individual, was destroyed when it impacted residential structures shortly after takeoff from Runway 15 at Addison Airport (ADS), near Dallas, Texas. The instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight's intended destination was Amarillo International Airport (AMA) near Amarillo, Texas.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC) data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft departed the Addison Airport from Runway 15 at 0957. Approximately four minutes into the flight, the pilot reported that he "lost his panel." At 1003, the radar contact with the aircraft was lost. The aircraft impacted a private residence in a northeasterly heading, and came to rest in the garage of a second private residence, across the street. The aircraft and both residences were destroyed by post-impact fire. There were no reported ground injuries. Witnesses in the area reported hearing the sound of an engine pass overhead, at a low altitude, and then heard a "loud boom." The impact was hard enough to rattle neighbors' windows. Witnesses reported hearing the noise, but it was too "cloudy" to see anything.
The weather conditions for ADS at 0957 reported winds from 130 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 7/8 of a mile with mist, and the ceiling was 100 feet overcast. The temperature was 17 degrees Celsius, and the dewpoint as 17 degrees Celsius, with a barometric altimeter of 30.20 inches of Mercury.
Things of note, the aircraft departed Southeast on runway 15. The neighborhood where it crashed is just to the left of the extended runway centerline about 5 miles out, but the aircraft's heading at the time of impact was northeasterly. The ceiling was 100 feet overcast at takeoff and the temperature was at dewpoint. The ground witnesses also reported that they couldn't see anything because it was "too cloudy", and I also heard this on the news. Sadly, this is the first accident listed on the NTSB monthly reports for 2004.