Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bayfield, Colorado 81122
Wednesday, September 1, 1999 11:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying his homebuilt airplane as a flight of two with another aircraft. The accident airplane was trailing behind the other aircraft, and both airplanes flew low over their friend's house. Several witnesses, including the friend, observed the trailing aircraft fly overhead. The left wing tipped, and the airplane rolled to the left, then headed toward the ground with the nose pointed downward. The aircraft struck several trees then impacted the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/1/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BAYFIELD
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81122
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID DRO
Elevation of weather observation facility 6685
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 9255
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) 1524
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 1 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1150
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 9:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N95PW
NTSB Number DEN99FA158
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Wroblewski
Aircraft Model RV-4
Aircraft Series Identifier RV-4
Aircraft Serial Number 2976
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 1 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 56
Airframe Hours 460
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PHILLIP A. WROBLEWSKI
Aircraft Owner Street Address 802 CLOUD GAP AVE.
Aircraft Owner City PAGOSA SPRINGS
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81147
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 No
Departure Airport Code 2V1
Departure City PAGOSA SPRINGS
Departure State CO
Departure Country
Departure Time 1030
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 Jan 10 2001 12:27PM
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 --