Saint Louis - Toronto

On January 9, 1984 at 10:32 PM, Saint Louis - Toronto experienced a crash involving Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3), operated by Skycraft Air Transport, with the event recorded near Saint Louis-Lambert Missouri.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

2 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 50.0%.

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

The listed crash cause is human factor. After landing, the pilot-in-command (pic) placed a refueling order to fill the aircraft's two 210 gallons main tanks for a return flight to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After the cargo was unloaded and the aircraft was refueled, the aircrew aborted the 1st two attempts to takeoff due to slow aircraft performance. Engine run-ups were performed after each abort and reportedly, the engines checked normal. After the 2nd aborted takeoff, the aircrew called the fbo and requested that the refueler be asked what type of fuel was added. The response was '100LL Avgas.' On the 3rd attempt to depart, the aircraft took off, but both engines lost power as the landing gear was retracted. The aircrew selected a highway on which to land. However, the left wing hit a utility pole, then the aircraft went thru a fence and hit a highway embankment. Investigation revealed that Jet-A fuel had been added to the aircraft rather than 100LL fuel. The truck containing Jet-A fuel looked similar to the one with 100LL Avgas, but was properly designated with fuel grade markings. A pilot was killed, the second was seriously injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration C-GSCA, MSN 15745/27190, year of manufacture 1945.