West Fargo Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Fargo, North Dakota 58078
Sunday, June 10, 2001 20:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The floatplane sustained substantial damage when it landed on a grass field, subsequently collapsing the float rigging and damaging the wing. The pilot reported, "... upon slide out, aircraft turned abruptly to line 90 degrees, side loading floats. Bending struts on floats, prop struck float, wingtip struck ground when float struts gave way." The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. A witness who worked at the airport reported the grass field adjacent to the airport had been mowed so the pilot could land. He reported the pilot was the first person to land on the grass at that airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight planning and the unsuitable landing area selected by the pilot. Additional factors were the uneven terrain and the failed float assembly in overload.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/10/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2000
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City West Fargo
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58078
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport West Fargo Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID D54
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 896
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 78
Weather Observation Facility ID FAR
Elevation of weather observation facility 900
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.69
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12241
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 9 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 10 2002 8:12AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA - Fargo FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3253N
NTSB Number CHI01LA201
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model J3-C65
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22444
Certified Max Gross Weight 1220
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 6 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 5665
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Lee Erickson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 27 NE 32nd Avenue
Aircraft Owner City Fargo
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58102
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code D54
Departure City Fargo
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1930
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Fargo
Destination State ND
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 4:07PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --