Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bass, Arkansas 72612
Thursday, April 29, 1999 11:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Prior to departing Bogalusa, Louisiana, the pilot obtained a 'weather briefing from the Pan Am weather system. The pilot reported that while en route to Springfield, Missouri, he encountered broken and solid clouds below his cruise altitude of 6,500 feet msl. When he arrived at Springfield, the clouds below were solid, and the ATIS was reporting 500 foot ceilings. The pilot turned 180 degrees to return to an area of 'broken overcast to land and refuel.' The pilot then elected to perform a precautionary landing to a county road because 'he was getting low on fuel and the weather conditions were deteriorating.' The touchdown and rollout on the gravel road were uneventful; however, the road curved to the left, and the airplane continued straight colliding with a fence.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft directional control during landing roll on a gravel road. Factors were the clouds and low ceilings, the low fuel status, and the gravel road condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/29/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BASS
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72612
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1150 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID HRO
Elevation of weather observation facility 1365
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 828
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 29 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1934
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:29AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N735B
NTSB Number FTW99LA126
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model J35
Aircraft Series Identifier J35
Aircraft Serial Number D-5563
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 8 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 5281
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CHARLES P. OWENS, JR.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 401 WALKER STREET
Aircraft Owner City BOGALUSA
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 70427
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BXA
Departure City BOGALUSA
Departure State LA
Departure Country
Departure Time 700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SGF
Destination City SPRINGFIELD
Destination State MO
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --