Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
De Queen, Arkansas 71832
Saturday, July 28, 2001 11:45 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight departed and was in cruise at 7,200 feet "above the cloud tops," receiving visual flight rules (VFR) flight following, when the pilot stated that he observed "holes in the cloud layer" and, subsequently, commenced a descent. Radar data revealed that the airplane was in a stable descent for 5 minutes. During the ensuing 7 final minutes of the flight, the airplane made multiple "S" patterns and its altitude varied between 3,400 feet and 2,600 feet. Witnesses observed the airplane fly in and out of the clouds and, subsequently, enter a spiraling descent prior to impacting the ground. The pilot received a weather briefing prior to the accident flight, during which the briefer advised the pilot of forecast conditions including, scattered clouds between three and five thousand feet, occasionally scattered to broken clouds between eight and ten thousand feet, a 30% chance of thunderstorms and rain showers, and possible lingering pockets of instrument flight rules (IFR) weather conditions. The closest weather observation facility (15 miles northwest of the accident site) reported broken cloud layers at 2,000 feet, 2,800 feet, and 3,500 feet, and a visibility of 10 miles near the time of the accident. The pilot held a private pilot certificate and was not instrument rated or pursuing an instrument rating at the time of the accident. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the aircraft.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's VFR flight into IMC, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of aircraft control. A contributing factor to the accident was the pilot's lack of total instrument flight time.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/28/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1145 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | De Queen |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 71832 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335837N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0941429W |
| 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 | 10 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 135 |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DEQ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 355 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 25 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.08 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1952 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11483 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 28 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2002 1:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8324Z |
| NTSB Number | FTW01FA171 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 205 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2050324 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3300 |
| 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 | Nov 17 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2138.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Skywagon Aviation LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 482 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Piedmont |
| Aircraft Owner State | OK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 73078 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | George E. Nelson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2837 NW 58th Street |
| Operator City | Oklahoma City |
| Operator State | OK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 73112 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | HSD |
| Departure City | Oklahoma City |
| Departure State | OK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | ELD |
| Destination City | El Dorado |
| Destination State | AR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 28 2002 5:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MORJU |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |