Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bad Axe, Michigan 48413
Monday, August 14, 2000 10:20 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was performing an aerial application flight when it impacted the ground while making a turn at the end of a spray pass. Witnesses to the accident reported that they saw the aircraft making a turn at the end of northbound pass. One of the witnesses reported that during the turn, "...the left wing dropped, nose went down, and the aircraft spun to the left." A second witness reported that, "...in the middle of the turn about that the plane seemed to be turning a little to[o] sharp. He was flying north turning to the west when about halfway is when it dipped real bad and made about 3/4 of a revolution and came nose first into the ground." The witness also stated that he did not hear a difference in engine sound when the accident occurred. A third witness reported that the aircraft, "...turned right then left at about 2/3 of the way around the plane seemed to turn real sharp then turned over and spiraled to the ground. A fourth witness reported that the aircraft was, "...spraying from south to north, and was in the process of making a turn to his left and was starting to come out of the turn when the plane started to roll or spin down. I could hear the engine thru out the spraying process and the sound of the engine never seem[ed] to change thru out this period." A postaccident examination of the aircraft did not reveal any anomalies that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadvertent stall/spin encountered by the pilot. A factor was the low altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2000
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1020
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City BAD AXE
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48413
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 8
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 1021 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BAX
Elevation of weather observation facility 766
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 71
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 63
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
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) 10183
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 14 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 17 2006 2:53PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\ZUZL
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3103B
NTSB Number CHI00LA257
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Ayres
Aircraft Model S2R-600
Aircraft Series Identifier S2R-600
Aircraft Serial Number 2583R
Certified Max Gross Weight 0
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 14 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2848
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name EARL'S SPRAY SERVICE, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1800 W. REDSTONE RD.
Aircraft Owner City WHEELER
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48662
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 Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BAX
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1005
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 10 2002 3:46PM
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 --