Backus Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Backus, Minnesota 55340
Friday, July 26, 1996 22:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he was above the glidepath on final approach and did not feel comfortable with the situation. He decided to execute a go-around. He advanced the throttle to full power and moved the flap switch up two notches from 40 degrees of flaps to 20 degrees of flaps. 'Everything seemed to be going fine when the next thing I saw was the tree tops.' The pilot 'instinctively pulled back on the yoke' to clear the trees. 'The airplane dipped to the left,' struck the trees and fell to the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude and his abrupt maneuver to avoid the tree tops. The dark night was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/26/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2230
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BACKUS
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55340
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BACKUS MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 7Y3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 330
Airport Elevation 1355
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2054 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID PKD
Elevation of weather observation facility 1443
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
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 Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 388
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 27 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1034
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1620V
NTSB Number CHI96LA256
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier 172M
Aircraft Serial Number 17263685
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 19 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 14
Airframe Hours 5202
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ANNIES AIRPLANE COMPANY, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 360 CARL STREET
Aircraft Owner City LINO LAKES
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55014
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 MIC
Departure City MINNEAPOLIS
Departure State MN
Departure Country
Departure Time 1930
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 7Y3
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
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 33
Runway Length 3588
Runway Width 145
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --