Grain Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grain Valley, Missouri 64029
Wednesday, August 25, 1999 16:52 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane on its maiden flight was seen just above runway 27 at the Grain Valley Airport, Grain Valley, Missouri, heading westbound. One witness said the airplane was flying nose high and wobbling as if it did not have enough speed. The airplane made a sharp left turn and disappeared behind the trees. Another witness said that the airplane was flying in a nose high attitude and did not seem to be gaining any speed. He watched the nose come down slightly as if the pilot was tying to gain speed, but then go back up again. As the airplane neared the west end of the runway, the witness said it turned left or south, and began descending with the nose high and the tail down, until it disappeared behind the trees. Both witnesses went to the accident site and found the airplane engulfed in flames. Examination of the wreckage revealed the adjuster screw on the propeller hub, used for setting the pitch of the blades, was extended 1 42/64 inches above the adjuster plate. The propeller manufacturer stated that the propeller is ground adjustable from 18 inches (feather) to 52 inches, with 35 inches being the neutral setting. The adjuster screw extension for the neutral setting is 1 7/16 inches. A screw measurement of 1 42/64 inches would equate to a propeller blade setting of 27 inches.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in this type of airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/25/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1652
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City GRAIN VALLEY
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64029
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport GRAIN VALLEY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3GV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 225
Airport Elevation 834
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1654 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 287
Weather Observation Facility ID MKC
Elevation of weather observation facility 759
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 18
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2835
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1758
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 25 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1813
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:27PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N787TP
NTSB Number CHI99LA309
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 Pinick
Aircraft Model HORIZON 2
Aircraft Series Identifier HORIZON 2
Aircraft Serial Number 001
Certified Max Gross Weight 1200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name THOMAS KEITH PINICK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2501 N 6 MILE CHURCH ROAD
Aircraft Owner City INDEPENDENCE
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 64058
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 3GV
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1652
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:27PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 4507
Runway Width 44
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --