Laurel Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Laurel, Montana 59044
Thursday, October 21, 1999 12:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that, during the landing roll, a 'whirlwind' picked the aircraft's right wing up and the aircraft subsequently began to weathervane to the right. Before the pilot could adequately correct for the wind condition, the left main gear collapsed inward resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft's left wing and fuselage. A post-accident inspection of the aircraft revealed no mechanical failure or malfunctions in the flight control system.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. Factors include a dust devil/whirlwind at the location where the pilot was trying to land.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/21/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City LAUREL
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59044
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LAUREL MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6S8
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 3515
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 55
Weather Observation Facility ID BIL
Elevation of weather observation facility 3649
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
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) 4283
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 979
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 21 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 12:00PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6147M
NTSB Number SEA00LA003
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Maule
Aircraft Model M-5-235C
Aircraft Series Identifier M-5-235C
Aircraft Serial Number 7185C
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 5 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32
Airframe Hours 1766
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WAYNE A. MATNEY
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 3606
Aircraft Owner City HOMER
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99603
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 PUW
Departure City PULLMAN
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 915
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 6S8
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 22
Runway Length 3775
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --