Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Berthoud, Colorado 80513
Thursday, August 10, 2000 10:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane drifted slightly to the left (north) as the pilot landed to the east, going uphill, on the private airstrip. He noted irrigation equipment on the south side of the airstrip. Takeoff was made to the west going downhill and he noticed 'considerable drift to the right (north).' He lowered the left wing to correct for the drift. As the airplane lifted off, the left wing struck an irrigation buggy wheel, causing the airplane to spin around 180 degrees. The airplane slid backwards, tearing off the tail wheel, and came to a halt under the sprinkler arm. The wind recorded at an airport 13 miles north of the accident site was from the south (160 degrees) at 7 knots with gusts to 14 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance during takeoff. A factor was the irrigation equipment.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/10/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BERTHOUD
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80513
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 Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1155 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 10
Weather Observation Facility ID FNL
Elevation of weather observation facility 5016
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 14
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 7074
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 297
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW OPERATIONS CENTER
NTSB Notification Date Aug 10 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1120
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:07AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N99DF
NTSB Number DEN00LA147
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Fisher
Aircraft Model GLASTAR GS-1
Aircraft Series Identifier GLASTAR GS
Aircraft Serial Number 5221
Certified Max Gross Weight 1960
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 Sep 9 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 38
Airframe Hours 38
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DAVID M. FISHER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 437 PINE ST.
Aircraft Owner City BOULDER
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80302
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 NONE
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 2V2
Destination City LONGMONT
Destination State CO
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2001 7:07AM
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 --