Boise – Pueblo – Kelly

On February 1, 1959 at 11:50 PM, Boise – Pueblo – Kelly experienced a crash involving Douglas DC-3, operated by General Airways, with the event recorded near Kerrville Texas.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

28 people were known to be on board, 3 fatalities were recorded, 25 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 10.7%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 25, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. A General Airways DC-3 crashed shortly before midnight near Kerrville, Texas, on February 1, 1959, during a civil air movement (CAM) of 25 military personnel from Boise, Idaho, to Lackland Air Force Base (Kelly AFB), San Antonio, Texas. Three of the 28 occupants, including the captain and the reserve captain, then acting as copilot, were killed, four were seriously injured, and 21 received minor injuries. The final segment of the flight was from Pueblo, Colorado, where the U. S. Weather Bureau Station furnished weather briefing. Icing prevailed and was to continue. An IFR flight plan specifying cruising at 9,000 feet was filed. Departure from Pueblo was at 1800 1 and at 1916 the flight requested an altitude change from 9,000 to 7,000 feet, reporting light icing. ARTC approved at 1945. Shortly thereafter the flight again reported light icing. An involved series of radio contacts ensued as ice accretion became worse, then critical, then incapacitating. A privately used airport at Kerrville, Texas, was staffed and lighted. An attempt to land there failed and the aircraft was crash-landed nearby. Previously alerted fire fighting apparatus and ambulances were sent to the site. Investigation revealed no significant mechanical defect and no unpredicted weather conditions. The Board believes that this accident resulted from the pilot pressing into known and dangerous icing conditions until the aircraft was crash-landed. General Airways, Inc., a CAB certificated supplemental air carrier, surrendered its FAA operating certificate shortly after the accident pending FAA re-evaluation of the carrier's operations. The FAA later restored the certificate.

Aircraft reference details include registration N17314, MSN 1924, year of manufacture 1937.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 30.0485°, -99.1399°.