AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 70

RICK NELSON: A TRAVELIN’ MAN
Eric Hillard Nelson might have spent his entire life as a television actor. He did, after all, come of age on his father’s television show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, when he was called Ricky. But as a teenager in the 1950s, Ricky Nelson got caught up in the rock ’n roll tidal wave. He recorded a cover of Fats Domino’s I’m Walkin’ and performed the song on the show, and from that point forward he was a musician. Recordings of Poor Little Fool and Travelin’ Man hit number one on the charts in 1960 and 1962, respectively. When the television show ended in 1965, Nelson (now known as Rick) continued to perform, tour, and record music. Facing an especially rigorous tour schedule in support of a new album, Nelson purchased a DC–3, N711Y, that reportedly had once belonged to Jerry Lee Lewis. On December 31, 1985, N711Y was headed from Alabama to Texas, carrying Nelson, his band members, and another passenger. Saying, “I’ve got a little problem here,” the pilot told ATC he wanted to turn back to Texarkana. He was provided a vector and advised of the closest airports, but later reported smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft struck power lines, a pole, and a tree before crashing in a field in DeKalb, Texas. The pilot and co-pilot were able to escape the wreckage, but Nelson and the others died in the ensuing fire. Lucky Louque remembers that investigation very well. The burned DC–3 came to Air Salvage of Dallas, and so did a veritable platoon of investigators. The high-profile accident had generated a lot of publicity, and rumors were circulating about what had brought down the aircraft. In its final report, the NTSB said, “During flight, the crew was unable to start the cabin heater, despite repeated attempts by the captain. Smoke then entered the cabin. Fresh air vents and cockpit windows were opened, but smoke became dense. The crew had difficulty seeing. “The oxygen system and handheld fire extinguishers were not used. Fasteners for the heater door were found unfastened. Examination indicated the fire originated in the aft cabin area, right hand side, at or near the floor line. The ignition and fuel sources were not determined.” —JWT

LANDING GEAR and tires share space with exhaust systems.

fly on the GI Bill in 1959. He ran an FBO, was a designated pilot examiner, and flew corporate before opening a maintenance shop at Lancaster Airport. The maintenance shop transitioned to salvage in the 1970s. “We knew so many of the insurance people,” Camp says, “[the salvage and storage business] was an easy transition.” The company offered a onestop service in which it would take a rig to the scene of an accident, bring the aircraft back, help with the teardown and investigation—and eventually try to purchase them and salvage parts for resale. When the airport manager began to grumble about T-hangars tied up with parts and aircraft storage, Camp bought a nearby parcel of land in 1981 and moved the business there in 1985.

Components are sold as approved parts, which differentiates them from airworthy parts. “The only thing I’m saying is that it came off an airplane,” Louque says. “Most of the parts I inspect are airworthy, but I didn’t sign it off.” Even so, he says, he instructs staff not to send out anything “that you wouldn’t put on an airplane.” Incredibly, until very recently ASOD kept track of its inventory with ledgers. Louque says the system is being computerized this year. “We don’t have returned parts,” says Camp. “We just don’t. Because the right one gets sent.”

PIECING OUT SKYHAWKS. A Cessna 172 minus its engine and fuselage is laid out inside the main hangar. Two ASOD employees can strip a 172 in one day, Louque says. I have to ask: What’s the most unusual thing you’ve found in an airplane? Louque pauses. “A hammer, bucking bars, screwdrivers”—tools that found their way where they shouldn’t have. He also has discovered the very occasional bag of marijuana tucked behind an upholstery panel. Each part is tagged with an item, part, and lot number. Those link to an N number and an aircraft. An entire room off the main hangar contains nothing but logbooks, so that parts may be identified and checked against a particular make and model. This system protects the company, because it’s proof that the aircraft was acquired legally, Camp says. “If you buy a pallet of used parts, you don’t know where they came from.”
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THE INVESTIGATION ROOM. Just off the main hangar is a room set aside for accident investigations. Here, approximately 80 times a year, Louque and his crew assist representatives from the FAA, the NTSB, insurance companies, manufacturers. They tear down wreckage, lay out and help to identify parts, and tag everything. Eighty percent of accident airplanes come from a five-state area, but “they come from all over,” he says. There is no investigation taking place today, so the room is bare. There’s no furniture—nothing but a large window. The sterile environment suggests an almost surgical setting. Investigations can be conducted in total seclusion if a sensitive situation warrants it. The NTSB has total control over investigations, Louque says. That said, the NTSB invites him to sit in on each investigation. “We don’t have an axe to grind with anybody,” he adds. Louque’s uncanny ability to decipher clues to probable cause—honed over more than 30 years of working in aircraft

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012

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