Bert Mooney Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Butte, Montana 59701
Wednesday, August 2, 2000 10:20 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses reported that they observed the airplane begin its takeoff roll on runway 33 from taxiway E. They stated that after becoming airborne, the airplane got about 50 to 60 feet in the air, then made a sharp right turn. The witnesses stated that the airplane '[took] a nosedive' or 'nosed into the ground' when it made this sharp right turn. The aircraft impacted the ground and came to rest just east of the intersection of runways 15/33 and 11/29. A post-crash fire ensued; however, the aircraft occupants were moved to safety by responding emergency personnel. The pilot reported to the NTSB that he had little recollection of the accident sequence. Investigators did not determine the reason for the sharp right turn and nose drop to ground impact observed by the witnesses. A report by the responding FAA inspector stated that the aircraft's engine was producing power at impact.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of aircraft control for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/2/2000
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1020
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BUTTE
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59701
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 BERT MOONEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BTM
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 5545
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) 8000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1005
NTSB Notification Source FAA/Helena FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Aug 2 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1145
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2001 3:00PM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4350K
NTSB Number SEA00LA151
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Kokenge
Aircraft Model GLASTAR
Aircraft Series Identifier GLASTAR
Aircraft Serial Number 5006
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Jun 8 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 59
Airframe Hours 106
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROY F. KOKENGE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 819 N. 53RD AVE.
Aircraft Owner City YAKIMA
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98908
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 BTM
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1020
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code YKM
Destination City YAKIMA
Destination State WA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 2 2001 4:09AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 9000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --