At approximately 0711 c.s.t. on December 27, 1968, Ozark Air Lines Flight 982, a Douglas DC-9, crashed while taking off from the Sioux City Airport, Sioux City, Iowa. There were no fatalities. Among the 64 passengers and four crewmembers, 10 passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries and three crewmembers received serious injuries. The aircraft was destroyed in the crash. There was no fire. Flight 982 began its takeoff on Runway 35 with the fllghtcrew aware that ice was present on the wings. The aircraft lifted off and the landing gear was selected to the up position by the first officer. The captain began turning off the landing and taxi lights. As the landing gear began to retract, the aircraft rolled abruptly and violently to the right to an angle of bank estimated by the flightcrew to have reached 900. The captain applied additional power and left rudder in an attempt to level the wings. When no immediate response was noted, he then applied left aileron. With the application of left aileron, the right wing came up; however, the roll continued to the left until the left wing contacted the runway. At this point, the captain discontinued the takeoff. He succeeded in leveling the wings prior to final ground contact, approximately 110 feet beyond the departure threshold of Runway 35. The aircraft came to rest in a grove of trees approximately 1,181 feet beyond the departure end of Runway 35. At 0657 c.s.t., the surface weather observation at Sioux City was reported as 800 feet overcast with visibility 3 miles. Fog was present and a light, freezing drizzle was falling. The temperature was 22�F., the dew point was 20�F., and the wind was from 360� at a velocity of 10 knots. At 0714 c.s.t., the only changes reported were that the ceiling had become 700 feet overcast and the wind had shifted to 20� at 13 knots.