Pryor Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Decatur, Alabama 35601
Monday, October 2, 1995 17:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot reported that he lost directional control of the airplane during an aborted touch and go attempt. The directional control problem was compounded when the throttle knob came off of the throttle control as the student attempted to reduce engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted takeoff attempt. A factor was the stripped throttle knob threads.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/2/1995
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City DECATUR
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 35601
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PRYOR FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DCU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 592
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1956 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 75
Weather Observation Facility ID HSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 758
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1900
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) 1555
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 2 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1515
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:38PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N152ND
NTSB Number ATL96LA002
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 SOCATA
Aircraft Model TB-9
Aircraft Series Identifier TB-9
Aircraft Serial Number 1201
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 8 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 33
Airframe Hours 2276
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Aircraft Owner Street Address BOX 8216 UNIVERSITY STATION
Aircraft Owner City GRAND FORKS
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58202
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 Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? Yes
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HSV
Departure City HUNTSVILLE
Departure State AL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
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 18
Runway Length 5096
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --