Valley City Flying Club Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Valley City, Ohio 44280
Saturday, August 26, 2000 11:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was departing from Runway 18, a 2,700 foot long, 50 foot wide, turf runway. According to the pilot, during the takeoff roll, the airplane began 'swerving' due to wind gusts from the southeast. He attempted to 'straighten' the airplane; however, the right wing contacted the ground and separated. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions of the airframe or engine, nor did the pilot report any. Winds reported at an airport 12 miles north-northeast of the accident site were from 210 degrees at 8 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff. A factor in this accident was the crosswind condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/26/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1110
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City VALLEY CITY
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44280
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 VALLEY CITY FLYING CLUB
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 78OH
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 850
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1051 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID CLE
Elevation of weather observation facility 791
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 13000
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
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 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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 562
NTSB Notification Source Great Lakes Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 26 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1540
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8470X
NTSB Number NYC00LA241
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 Freund
Aircraft Model WITTMAN W10
Aircraft Series Identifier WITTMAN W1
Aircraft Serial Number 1178
Certified Max Gross Weight 1225
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FRIEDRICH W. FREUND
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City AVON
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44011
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 78OH
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1110
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 2700
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --