Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Brandt, South Dakota 57218
Saturday, April 11, 1998 10:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness said that he heard the airplane approach his farm from the north. 'The motor was pretty loud.' The airplane was traveling north to south at an altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level (agl). The airplane came to a position due west of where the witness was standing, and made a flat turn. After the pilot completed the turn, the airplane lost altitude. 'It was in a flat attitude as it descended. It didn't seem like the nose [of the airplane] dipped down.' The witness said that he lost sight of the airplane when it went behind some trees. He said that he heard the airplane impact on the ground. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies. The pilot told a witness, two weeks prior to the accident, that 'he only had about an hour's worth of flight time' in the airplane. Another witness said that the pilot might have flown the airplane the day before the accident, but it was more likely that he just did taxi tests. FAA toxicology testing of specimens from the pilot revealed volatile concentrations of bupropion in blood and liver samples.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor contributing to this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/11/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1000
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BRANDT
Event State SOUTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 57218
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
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID KAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1748
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 295
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1853
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) 300
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 11 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1123
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 N17JR
NTSB Number CHI98LA120
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Rodgers
Aircraft Model RAVEN
Aircraft Series Identifier RAVEN
Aircraft Serial Number 5
Certified Max Gross Weight 750
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 18 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BARRY G. QUINN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 522 ALFA STREET
Aircraft Owner City ALTUS
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73521
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DOUGLAS C. AAMOLD
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2955 BLUE RIDGE DRIVE
Operator City WOODBURY
Operator State MN
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 55125
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 No
Departure Airport Code SD11
Departure City CLEAR LAKE
Departure State SD
Departure Country
Departure Time 830
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --