Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Erhard, Minnesota 56534
Friday, March 9, 2001 20:03 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The owner of the airplane said that he and the pilot had flown to Detroit Lakes (DTL), Minnesota, in the airplane so that the owner could pick up another airplane and ferry it back to Fergus Falls (FFM), Minnesota. The owner said the flight to DTL was uneventful. At DTL, they checked the weather for the return flight. The automatic weather observing/reporting system (AWOS) at FFM was reporting a ceiling of 800 feet overcast and 7 miles visibility. The owner took off in a Piper Seneca before the pilot took off. The owner said that he heard the pilot over his airplane radio departing DTL. En route to FFM, the pilot contacted the owner and inquired if the owner got up okay. The owner responded that everything was working. The pilot then said, "You must be close to Fergus [Falls]". The owner said that he was 11 miles from FFM at that time. The owner said he landed right at 2000. While taxiing to the ramp, the owner said he tried to call the pilot on the airplane's radio. There was no response. The owner parked his airplane and went into the fixed base operator (FBO) to contact the pilot on the FBO radio. Again, there was no response. A witness on a farm located near the accident site said that he first heard the airplane. "We couldn't see it. It was in the clouds or fog." The witness said the ground visibility was good. "The airplane appeared out of the fog approximately up 150 ft. spiraling sharp to the right, and going down fast. It only took a few seconds for it to hit the ground." The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating. At 2017, the AWOS at FFM, 15 miles south of the accident site, reported sky conditions 600 overcast, 7 miles visibility, temperature 21 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 14 degrees F, winds 150 degrees at 12 knots, and altimeter 29.91 inches of mercury. An examination of the airplane systems revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's encounter with known adverse weather conditions, the low ceiling, the pilot disregarding the weather observation information obtained prior to the flight, and the pilot's lack of instrument experience.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/9/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2003 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | ERHARD |
| Event State | MINNESOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 56534 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| 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 | 2017 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 183 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FFM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1182 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -6 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -1493 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 11637 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 9 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2215 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 21 2002 10:26AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N55893 |
| NTSB Number | CHI01FA100 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-7305495 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2450 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 17 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 168 |
| Airframe Hours | 5175 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WEST CENTRAL AIRWAYS, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4005 HIGHWAY 210 WEST |
| Aircraft Owner City | FERGUS FALLS |
| Aircraft Owner State | MN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 56537 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Ferry |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | DTL |
| Departure City | DETROIT LAKES |
| Departure State | MN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1940 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FFM |
| Destination City | FERGUS FALLS |
| Destination State | MN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 30 2002 8:12AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |