- 5 -
Mr. Bingham was employed as General Manager of Spectrum Air, Inc., in September 1971. He participated in the negotiations to purchase N275X and attended the 10-hour formal ground school which was given by a former F-86 pilot in May 1972. He received an additional 2 hours of emergency procedures and 2 hours of flight procedures instruction on the day of his first flight, June 6, 1972.[1] All ground instruction was monitored by an FAA representative. The initial flight consisted of performing basic airwork maneuvers including approaches to a stall. The instructor monitored the flight by radio in a P-51 "chase plane," but he did not see the Sabre or issue any instruction to the pilot during most of the flight.
All of Mr. Bingham's takeoffs in the Sabre Mark 5 were made on Runway 29 at Oakland International Airport, except the accident flight. Runway 29 is 10,000 feet long, 150 feet wide, and is bounded at both ends by San Francisco Bay. He testified that, "... the sight that you see is different between Runway 30 (and) Oakland." There are visible obstructions at the end of the runway in Sacramento whereas "The Oakland runway runs right in the water and it's unlimited out there." He stated that, "I was told that on normal reference, not necessarily straight ahead, but out to the sides as well, that as I got the proper angle for rotation that I would just not quite be able to see the runway."
Mr. Bingham stated that he had retired at 2300 the night before the accident, and awoke at 0600 on the day of the accident. He had a normal breakfast and a snack for lunch.
1.6 Aircraft Information
Canadair, Ltd., Sabre Mark 5, N275X, was manufactured on September 19, 1954, with serial no. 1054. The aircraft was flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force for 300 hours and then placed in long-term storage on October 31, 1961. Periodic inspections were accomplished through June 19, 1967. The aircraft was first registered in the United States in July 1971, and purchased by Spectrum Air, Inc., on November 4, 1971. During the next 3 months the aircraft was worked on in Syracuse, New York, to prepare it for a ferry flight to California where it would be based. Although the maintenance performed during this period is unknown, it was described as routine to the activation of an aircraft from long-term storage.
- ↑ Although his first flight was logged June 2, the aircraft acceptance test hop was not flown until June 3, and Mr. Bingham's initial flight was several days subsequent to the acceptance check.
