Artesia Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Artesia, New Mexico 88210
Tuesady, September 16, 1997 11:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The homebuilt motorized glider was observed on takeoff roll from runway 21 in calm wind. Witnesses reported that as soon as the aircraft broke ground, 'the aircraft assumed a very nose high attitude and stalled.' It impacted the ground in a left banking turn and nose low attitude. Witnesses further stated that the 22 horsepower engine continued to operate at high RPM after the aircraft impacted the ground. The co-owner of the airplane stated that he had flown the motorized glider 3 times prior to the accident and found it to have 'extremely sensitive controls.' He further reported that the flight controls in the glider were operated by a side stick located on the left side of the cockpit. He noted that 'there is a tendency to overcorrect the control inputs specially at low airspeeds in close proximity to the ground.' Also, the pilot said that for the last few years, he had been flying gliders, and before the accident, he had not flown a powered aircraft for over 13 years.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper handling of the aircraft during takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and collision with the terrain. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot's lack of recent flight experience in the make and model of aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/16/1997
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1115
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City ARTESIA
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88210
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ARTESIA MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ATS
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 3548
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1110 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID ATS
Elevation of weather observation facility 3518
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 5700
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1151
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 16 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1150
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:33PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5575S
NTSB Number FTW97LA351
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 BRASHEARS
Aircraft Model MONERAI-S
Aircraft Series Identifier MONERAI-S
Aircraft Serial Number 111
Certified Max Gross Weight 450
Aircraft Category Unknown
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 30 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GENE SCOGGINS & LLOYD SOLEMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1909 BRISCOE
Aircraft Owner City ARTESIA
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 88210
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 ATS
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone MDT
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 21
Runway Length 6300
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --