Four Corners Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Farmington, New Mexico 87401
Friday, May 28, 1999 11:05 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he raised the tail for takeoff at an indicated airspeed of 35 mph. The nose of the airplane pulled to the right and he over corrected with left rudder. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and struck the 5,000 foot marker. The right main landing gear buckled and the right wing contacted the ground, causing substantial wing damage. An FAA inspector examined the airplane and found no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction. At the time of the accident the wind was variable at 5 knots. Although the pilot reported he had accumulated 73 hours total flight time, 40 hours of which were in the Cessna 140, he had acquired only 3 hours of pilot in command time, all of which were in the airplane make and model.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's excessive use of rudder while attempting to correct for loss of directional control. Factors were the pilot's loss of directional control, and his lack of experience in the type of airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/28/1999
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1105
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City FARMINGTON
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 87401
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport FOUR CORNERS REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FMN
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 5503
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID FMN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5503
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
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) 7582
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) 122
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 1 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N89586
NTSB Number DEN99LA088
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 140
Aircraft Series Identifier 140
Aircraft Serial Number 8629
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 Jul 3 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43
Airframe Hours 2832
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LAWRENCE D & DARLENE T BACKER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 851 BEAR CREEK RD.
Aircraft Owner City BAYFIELD
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81122
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FMN
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1105
Departure Time Zone MDT
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 Apr 27 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 7
Runway Length 6702
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --