Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Buffalo Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Buffalo, Missouri 65622
Wednesday, April 24, 1996 11:07 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The Piper PA-25 (acft), being used to develop an STC, was modified by installing 2nd seat in hopper area & extending canopy forward. On 6/30/95, operator reported to FAA that flight conformance testing to date had reflected no change in acft performance versus original configuration. Acft was equipped with external airspeed calibration device for an airspeed calibration flight, & it was loaded with 560 lbs of ballast to meet max gross wt & forward CG requirements for STC testing. Wind was gusty, & temp was 64 deg (about 30 deg warmer than on day of previous test flight). Pilot reported that after takeoff from runway 21, he maintained best rate of climb speed & 2525-2550 engine rpm, then best angle of climb speed, but acft would not climb. He then turned downwind & attempted to return to same runway; however, acft collided with trees & crashed about 1/2 mi east of airport. A witness said that during takeoff, acft lifted off, then began a left turn about half way down the runway. Pilot said that a climbing turn was made to allow for more clearance from obstacles at south end of airport. Witnesses said acft then turned north & remained at low altitude & airspeed until it hit trees & crashed. Fire then erupted, & acft was demolished. Investigation revealed that standard (original) wing root & landing gear (strut) fairings were not installed. Piper reported that removal of wing root fairings would significantly reduce wing lifting capability & change airflow over horizontal tail, requiring more elevator deflection for maneuvering. Absence of landing gear fairings would have increased drag, slightly.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
failure of company/operator personnel to install the wing and landing gear (strut) fairings after modifying the airplane for a supplemental type certificate (STC), and improper planning/decision by the pilot. Factors relating to the accident were: the airplane's reduced performance, and high obstructions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/24/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1107 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | BUFFALO |
| Event State | MISSOURI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 65622 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | BUFFALO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | H17 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 1154 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Partial - limited by pilot |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1054 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 25 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SGF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1267 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 29 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 22 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1743 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 713 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 24 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 9:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6254Z |
| NTSB Number | CHI96FA141 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-25-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-25-150 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-314 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 38 |
| Airframe Hours | 3068 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | D & E COMPANY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3969 S. FARM RD 81 |
| Aircraft Owner City | REPUBLIC |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 65738 |
| 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) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | H17 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1105 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | H17 |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| 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 | 21 |
| Runway Length | 3215 |
| Runway Width | 45 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |