Sky King Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Terre Haute, Indiana 47808
Sunday, October 12, 1997 12:20 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses to the accident said that the prevailing winds at the airport were from the south at 12 to 15 miles per hour. They observed the airplane on final approach to runway 26. They said at about 50 feet above ground level the pilot initiated a go-around, but maintained a nose high attitude which continued until the airplane departed controlled flight, turned left and impacted the terrain. A weather reporting station seven miles to the southeast of the accident reported winds of 190 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 22 knots, 10 minutes after the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a go-around attempt which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/12/1997
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1220
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City TERRE HAUTE
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 47808
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SKY KING
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3I3
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 496
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1230 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID HUF
Elevation of weather observation facility 1230
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1816
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 12 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:36PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N734WT
NTSB Number CHI98LA014
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 17269179
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Aug 29 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 13
Airframe Hours 2009
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MILLS AVIATION, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7303 MAYNARD WHEELER RD
Aircraft Owner City TERRE HAUTE
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 47803
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code JVY
Departure City JEFFERSONVILLE
Departure State IN
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3I3
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 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 3557
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --