Tahlequah Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74464
Saturday, September 12, 1998 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot lost control of the airplane during takeoff from runway 17 when a gust of wind pitched the airplane to a 25-30 degrees nose up attitude and rolled the airplane right. The pilot lowered the nose of the aircraft; however, the airplane drifted to the right side of the runway where it impacted the ground with the right wing and subsequently came to rest inverted. The nearest weather observation facility is located at Davis Field near Muskogee, Oklahoma, which is 23 nautical miles southwest of Tahlequah Municipal Airport. At 0953 the facility recorded the winds at 110 degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 23 knots. A witness stated that he saw 'dust devils' in the vicinity of the airport at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during takeoff. A factor was the gusty wind conditions at the time of the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/12/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City TAHLEQUAH
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 74464
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 TAHLEQUAH
Event Location Nearest Airport ID H73
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 873
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID MKO
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 23
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3200
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 23
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2475
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) 961
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 12 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1919
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8548K
NTSB Number FTW98LA397
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 Stinson
Aircraft Model 108-1
Aircraft Series Identifier 108-1
Aircraft Serial Number 1548
Certified Max Gross Weight 2230
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 9 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 2916
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HERBERT RAKESTRAW
Aircraft Owner Street Address 308 NORTH 4TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City OKEMAH
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 74859
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 H73
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code F81
Destination City OKEMAH
Destination State OK
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 23 2001 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --