Winston Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Snyder, Texas 79549
Tuesady, September 24, 1996 14:28 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a local aerial application flight maneuver, the pilot, watching for wires at the entrance area to the field, saw the transmission wires, and nosed the airplane over to clear the wires; however, the left wing had 'blanked out a pole and he dove into the pole.' The pilot flew the airplane to the airport and during the landing flare/touchdown, when the power was reduced, he lost control of the airplane and the airplane veered to the left with the left wing striking the ground. The airplane cartwheeled, came to stop in an upright position, and a post impact fire erupted in the area of the engine fuel lines. Witnesses extinguished the fire. The left wing tip, aileron, and several feet of the wing were located adjacent to a downed powerline pole. Paint transfer was found on the pole. Overcast ceilings and haze were report in the area.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with a pole resulting in the separation of the left aileron and a loss of aircraft control. A factor was the haze.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/24/1996
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1428
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City SNYDER
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79549
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport WINSTON FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SNK
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 2430
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 2000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 12
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1279
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 24 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2017
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:21AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9537J
NTSB Number FTW96TA400
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model T188C
Aircraft Series Identifier T188C
Aircraft Serial Number T18803817T
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 26 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 219
Airframe Hours 2274
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AAA FLYING SERVICE, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4425 N. MCCOLL ROAD
Aircraft Owner City MCALLEN
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78504
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name JAMES R. DAVIS
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1904 SOUTHWEST AVENUE G
Operator City SEMINOLE
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 79360
Operator Code NCWG
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 SNK
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1310
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 --
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 35
Runway Length 5599
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --