Mitchell Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mitchell, South Dakota 57301
Sunday, October 25, 1987 19:27 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE ACFT HAD BEEN CLEARED FOR THE VOR APPROACH AT MITCHELL MUNICIPAL ARPT AT APPROX 1915 CST. THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN A SLIGHT NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE ABOUT 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE ARPT AT THE POINT WHERE THE PROCEDURE TURN INTERSECTED THE INBOUND COURSE. IT WAS A DARK NIGHT WITH LITTLE SURFACE ILLUMINATION AND IMC EXISTED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE INVESTIGATION DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF AIRFRAME, ENG, OR SYSTEM MALFUNCTION.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/25/1987
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1927
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MITCHELL
Event State SOUTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 57301
Event Date Year 1987
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MITCHELL MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MHE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 12
Degrees magnetic from airport 290
Airport Elevation 1302
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1845 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 114
Weather Observation Facility ID MHE
Elevation of weather observation facility 1302
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
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) 300
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 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1894
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 26 1987 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1816
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 35263
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1257E
NTSB Number DEN88FA016
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BEECH
Aircraft Model A-36
Aircraft Series Identifier A-36
Aircraft Serial Number E-623
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 4 1987 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 143
Airframe Hours 2406
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TIMOTHY J. ROETHLESBERGER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10964 90TH AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City MECOSTA
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49332
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 77D
Departure City BIG RAPIDS
Departure State MI
Departure Country
Departure Time 1525
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MHE
Destination City MITCHELL
Destination State SD
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
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 12
Runway Length 6704
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --