Hobart Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hobart, Oklahoma 73651
Saturday, November 7, 1998 19:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The non-instrument rated private pilot continued flight into dark night instrument meteorological conditions, and the airplane impacted terrain while maneuvering. Witnesses, located 2 1/2 miles west of the accident site, reported observing the aircraft descend out of the clouds with its navigation lights visible and then ascend back into the clouds. One of the witnesses stated that the weather conditions were 'IMC and foggy' and that the 'airplane seemed to be looking for the airport.' Another witness reported observing the airplane 'go down at a steep rate of descent and then pulled up and disappeared into the clouds.' A few minutes later, he 'saw an explosion and flames just over the hill.' A weather observation, taken 6 minutes prior to the accident, reported the visibility at 1 3/4 miles in mist and an overcast ceiling at 200 feet agl. No record was found of any preflight weather briefing obtained by the pilot. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation. The levels of 1.182 (mg/dl, mg/hg) Norfluoxetine (metabolite of prozac) detected in liver and 0.055 (mg/dl, mg/hg) Norfluoxetine detected in blood were not high enough to cause impairment.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Factors were the low ceiling, fog, dark night conditions, and the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing prior to the flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/7/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1915
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City HOBART
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73651
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HOBART MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HBR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 1564
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1909 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID HBR
Elevation of weather observation facility 1564
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 200
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) 1.75
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 1885
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 7 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9740L
NTSB Number FTW99FA020
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 Beech
Aircraft Model B19
Aircraft Series Identifier B19
Aircraft Serial Number MB-526
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 Oct 23 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CINDY D. CASIDA
Aircraft Owner Street Address 720 W 11TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City HOBART
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73651
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name STEVE J CASIDA
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 No
Departure Airport Code F36
Departure City CORDELL
Departure State OK
Departure Country
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HBR
Destination City
Destination State OK
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
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 --