Louisville Winston County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Louisville, Mississippi 39339
Monday, September 27, 1999 6:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot received a weather briefing before departure and when near the destination airport, cleared for the NDB approach. The pilot reported the procedure turn inbound; published MDA is 1,300 feet msl. Witnesses on the airport reported heavy low fog and heard the pilot announce over the UNICOM frequency, 'Oh there is fog rolling into Starkville too?' One of the witnesses advised the pilot they could go to another airport due to the fog; the pilot responded he would execute the approach. The witnesses heard the engines operating at full power then heard the impact and saw a fireball. The airplane impacted the runway inverted, slid across the runway, and came to rest in grass off the runway. A postcrash fire destroyed the airplane. Tree contact approximately 972 feet northwest of the runway impact location separated approximately 51 inches of the left wing. Examination of the engines, propellers, and flight controls revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. The pilot had twice failed his airline transport pilot checkride. The designated examiner of the second failed flight test indicated the pilot was marginal in all flight operations. The NDB was checked after the accident; no discrepancies were noted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's disregard for the published minimum descent altitude resulting in tree contact and separation of 51 inches of the left wing. Findings in the investigation were the pilot's two failures of the ATP checkride in a multiengine airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/27/1999
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 605
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City LOUISVILLE
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 39339
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 LOUISVILLE WINSTON COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KLMS
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 575
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 555 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 50
Weather Observation Facility ID GTR
Elevation of weather observation facility 264
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height 1400
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 4
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1745
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 27 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record May 11 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N100EE
NTSB Number MIA99FA269
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-31P
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-31P
Aircraft Serial Number 31P-7530003
Certified Max Gross Weight 7800
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 25 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MERLINE NIX
Aircraft Owner Street Address 20 AIRPORT ROAD
Aircraft Owner City BELMONT
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 38827
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 TUP
Departure City TUPELO
Departure State MS
Departure Country
Departure Time 526
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LMS
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 11 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 4519
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --