Reedley Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Reedley, California 93654
Saturday, June 30, 2001 17:50 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot lost control of the airplane during takeoff. The pilot stated he took off on too hot of a day with a high density altitude and failed to maintain sufficient airspeed to keep from stalling the airplane. The airplane inadvertently rolled to the left over the departure end of the runway. The pilot continued with the roll in an attempt to level the wings before impacting terrain. Two witnesses reported they observed the airplane takeoff then turn toward the left. They then observed the wings rock from side to side before the airplane rolled left and pitch nose down.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/30/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1750
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Reedley
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93654
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363959N
Event Location Longitude 1192659W
Event Location Airport Reedley Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O32
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 383
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1756 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID KFAT
Elevation of weather observation facility 336
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 15000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 37
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.82
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15292
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 30 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2004 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FAT-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N376FW
NTSB Number LAX01LA229
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 Smith
Aircraft Model FW-190
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 217
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
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 500
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name George V. Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fresno
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93727
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 O32
Departure City Reedley
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1750
Departure Time Zone PDT
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 - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 9 2004 4:06PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 3300
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --