Boulder Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder, Colorado 80301
Thursday, July 1, 1999 15:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed the airport with a glider in tow. After the glider was released, she returned for landing. She made a 'smooth wheel landing with no bounces,' and the aircraft rolled 'straight and smoothly' on the two main wheels. She felt the tail of the airplane begin to rise, and she pulled back on the stick, but stated that she was unable to get a response from the elevator. The aircraft continued to roll forward until the spinner impacted the pavement. The airplane then nosed over onto its back. The wind was calm during landing. In a telephone interview with the pilot shortly after the accident, she stated that the aircraft's wheels touched down twice on the runway prior to the third actual touchdown. Following the accident, a functional test of the elevator control system was performed. The elevator operated effectively, and no abnormalities or discrepancies were observed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BOULDER
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80301
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BOULDER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1V5
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 5288
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1545 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 148
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 8503
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) 406
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 1 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1550
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:44AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4785F
NTSB Number DEN99LA111
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA-18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-18-150
Aircraft Serial Number 18-7906
Certified Max Gross Weight 1625
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 Mar 16 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 158
Airframe Hours 12125
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SOARING SOCIETY OF BOULDER
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 144
Aircraft Owner City LOUISVILLE
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80027
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 1V5
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1500
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 4100
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --