John F. Kennedy Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ashland, Wisconsin 54806
Wednesday, April 15, 1998 8:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness heard the pilot call on the radio and ask, 'Is the coffee on?' The witness told the pilot that the coffee was on. The pilot responded, 'Well then, I'll come in.' The next thing the witness recalled was a loud sound of an airplane engine and then the sound of things breaking. The witness ran outside of the hangar and saw the airplane going away from him in a level, gradual climb. The airplane began a left turn and roll. The airplane reached the top of its climb and then came straight down in a combination of a continual roll and a spin. Examination of the accident site revealed that the tops of three water birch trees, located 75 feet from the southeast edge of a ramp, on the airport's northeast side, were sheared off through the trunks, approximately 25 feet up from their bases. The outboard 4 feet of the airplane's left wing was found on the ramp, approximately 130 feet from the trees. Pieces of tree trunks, tree branches, and the airplane's left aileron fanned out from the trees in a southwesterly direction. No other anomalies were found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot failing to maintain separation from the trees. Factors contributing to this accident were the trees and the pilot being too low in altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/15/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 840
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City ASHLAND
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54806
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JOHN F. KENNEDY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ASX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 260
Airport Elevation 826
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 840 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 50
Weather Observation Facility ID ASX
Elevation of weather observation facility 826
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
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) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 0
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) 478
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 15 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1030
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:54AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N828CE
NTSB Number CHI98FA123
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 180J
Aircraft Series Identifier 180J
Aircraft Serial Number 18052285
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 30 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TODD & ROBERTA VICKROY
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1115 3RD STREET WEST
Aircraft Owner City ASHLAND
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54806
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 ASX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 812
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 Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 3498
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --