Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Thompson-Robbins Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
W. Helena, Arkansas 72324
Saturday, August 17, 1996 9:45 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the takeoff roll, the pilot observed a vehicle enter from a taxiway onto the runway. The left wing of the airplane struck the truck as the pilot attempted to avoid the collision. The airport construction (VOR/DME installation) work schedule was Monday through Thursday and the pilot was aware of the construction project and that work was not scheduled for Saturdays. Project specifications and safety guidelines to all employees and suppliers included the following: aircraft has right-of-way over any vehicle, before crossing or entering on to a runway or taxiway come to a complete stop, and never proceed onto a runway without proper authorization. Construction personnel reported that the accident date was not a scheduled work day, no other personnel were at the site, and the truck driver had worked the airport site on Friday. However, the driver's job site for Saturday was not the airport and it was not known why the driver went to the airport instead of the assigned location. Toxicological testing (truck driver) by the state crime lab detected cannabinoids and alcohol; however, lab personnel stated that the cannabinoids were not quantified and the alcohol was below the state limit.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate visual lookout of the vehicle driver and his inadvertent driving of the vehicle onto the runway resulting in the pilot of the departing aircraft performing an evasive maneuver in an attempt to avoid the collision.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/17/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 945 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | W. HELENA |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 72324 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | THOMPSON-ROBBINS |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HEE |
| 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 | 242 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1320 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 17 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1030 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3095X |
| NTSB Number | FTW96LA349 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Ayres |
| Aircraft Model | S2R-T34 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | S2R-T34 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | T34-174 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6000 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 26 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 564 |
| Airframe Hours | 2490 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RIDDELL FLYING SERVICE, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P. O. BOX 2482 |
| Aircraft Owner City | W. HELENA |
| Aircraft Owner State | AR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 72390 |
| 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 | KTEG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Unknown |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Unknown |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Unknown |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | HEE |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| 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 | 26 |
| Runway Length | 3009 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |