Jensen Air Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rosemount, Minnesota 55068
Wednesday, July 23, 1997 16:06 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness reported that after the airplane took off, he observed it in a steep climb, followed by a level off at about 100 ft agl. The airplane then entered a 90-degree turn to the left, followed by an erratic flight path with both wings rocking back and forth. It then went into a steep nose down, 45-degree right wing down attitude, before impacting terrain. An examination of the engine and flight controls did not reveal any preexisting failure or malfunction which would have resulted in the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff, which resulted in a stall/spin and collision with the terrain. His excessive climb rate after takeoff was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/23/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1606
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City ROSEMOUNT
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55068
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JENSEN AIR FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
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 940
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1555 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID LVN
Elevation of weather observation facility 960
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) 2295
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 --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 772
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 23 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2002 11:28AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\GIUV
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N36JG
NTSB Number CHI97LA221
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 Goble
Aircraft Model RV-4
Aircraft Series Identifier RV-4
Aircraft Serial Number 1458
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 542
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KOSTA ASSELANIS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 11109 ALBAVAR PATH
Aircraft Owner City INVER GROVE
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55077
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1606
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 9
Runway Length 2500
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --