Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Upham, North Dakota 58789
Saturday, September 26, 1998 14:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness reported seeing the airplane make a low pass across a field where the pilot's brother was baling hay. According to the witness, the airplane made a steep climb to between 400 and 500 feet above the ground, made a left turn and spiraled vertically into the ground. The airplane was destroyed by the post-impact- fire. The on-scene investigation revealed no anomalies with the airframe, flight control system, or engine that would prevent flight. According to the pilot's logbook, his last flight in the accident airplane was December 31, 1995. The pilot had received a biennial flight review on May 1, 1998, in a different make and model airplane than the accident airplane. There were no logbook entries after May 1998. The logbook entries for the accident airplane did not show any stall or spin maneuvers performed by the pilot during the time he had flown it.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's steep pull and failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall/spin. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane's handling qualities, and a lack of recent experience in the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/26/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City UPHAM
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58789
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
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 Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1502 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 23
Weather Observation Facility ID MOT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1715
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 35
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
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) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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) 1316
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 26 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1640
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:45AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N311DM
NTSB Number CHI98LA361
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 Champion
Aircraft Model BL-7-GCBC
Aircraft Series Identifier BL-7-GCBC
Aircraft Serial Number 17
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DARYL E. MOEN
Aircraft Owner Street Address HC 1 BOX 7
Aircraft Owner City UPHAM
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58789
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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 RLA
Departure City
Departure State ND
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code RLA
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --