Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Morganton, North Carolina 27520
Thursday, June 25, 1998 12:37 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he was flying above a fire as a spotter for the U. S. Forest Service (USFS), although he was employed by the North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS). The fire was on a mountain which lies in a north-south direction. The winds were westerly. He began by flying approximately 600-800 feet above the ridge. After completing several circuits, the pilot stated the air became turbulent, so he climbed 1000 feet. After completing several circuits at the new altitude, the pilot decided to reverse directions and fly a clockwise pattern. He flew away from the mountain on the leeward side and made a 180 degree turn. As he completed the turn, the airplane began to lose altitude rapidly. The pilot stated he added full power and leveled the wings, but he was still descending in excess of 500 feet per minute, with his airspeed decreasing through 80 miles per hour (mph). He then started a right turn to clear the ridge, but he was already below the ridge line. The pilot stated the controls became mushy and unresponsive. He stated he then attempted to make a 'controlled crash'. The pilot reported no problems with the airplane or engine. The pilot reported having approximately 4 1/2 years mountain flying experience while in Alaska, but no formal training in mountain flying. The airplane stalls at 47 mph when in level flight with no flaps. NCFS pilots reported that they have no regulations, handbook, or guidelines for use when flying.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inflight encounter with a downdraft which led to a stall/mush and an inflight collision with the ground. Factors were the inadequate training in mountain flying and inadequate guidelines provided by the North Carolina Forest Service.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/25/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1237 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | MORGANTON |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27520 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| 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 | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1154 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 260 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AVL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2165 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 50 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 3800 |
| 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) | 289 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 25 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1300 |
| 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 | N16574 |
| NTSB Number | ATL98GA086 |
| 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 | Ector Aircraft Company |
| Aircraft Model | 305A (L-19) |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 305A (L-19 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2019 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 9 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 97 |
| Airframe Hours | 4156 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2411 OLD US 70 WEST |
| Aircraft Owner City | CLAYTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27520 |
| 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) | Public Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MRN |
| Departure City | MORGANTON |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| 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 | -- |