Wittman Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901
Friday, July 27, 2001 14:53 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The captain of the Boeing 727-2Q6 said they had just set takeoff rated thrust and were at approximately 80 to 100 knots, when he saw a Lancair 360 on the runway coming at them. The captain said he executed an abort and maneuvered left. The Boeing 727-2Q6's right wing passed over the top of the Lancair 360. The captain said, "We exited on [taxiway] Bravo, and taxied to the ramp." The captain said, "We were cleared to back taxi down [runway] 9. We were cleared for takeoff. We were told to expedite. There was a T-34 flight on final, 3 miles out. I turned [the airplane] and rolled." The pilot of the Lancair 360 said that he was taxiing to runway 9 following the signals of an airshow flag man (ground marshaller). "The flagman informed me that if I still wanted to depart that I could do so by taxiing quickly down the runway and get in front of the air show traffic. There was so much noise and commotion on the runway I failed to recognize the 727 who were back taxiing." The pilot said, "After spotting the 727 on the runway, I hugged the left side of the runway, giving him as much room as possible" The pilot said he was monitoring the runway frequency and didn't hear anything. The air traffic manager for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) airshow said they saw the Lancair 360 from the tower. The flag person said the Lancair approached him on runway 31, turned the 180 degrees, stopped, and shut down. The pilot stated he had a hot brake and wanted to cool it off. The flag person pointed out that the field would be closing at 1500 and he would be unable to depart until after the air show, if he waited too long. The flag person said he suggested to the pilot that if he could, continue taxiing for departure. "I then explained that I wanted him to taxi in the grass, in front of the warbirds waiting for takeoff. I coordinated by radio with the EAA flag person at the departure point that no aircraft were intending to taxi eastbound in the grass and it would be clear for the Lancair. The pilot agreed to my suggestion and restarted his engine. He turned 180 degrees to face me and I motioned him to come toward me, followed by signals to bear left onto the grass taxiway. The Lancair started his left turn, clearing my body, but before reaching the grass, straightened out and taxied the last 30 feet of rwy (runway) 31 and turned westbound on the edge of rwy 9. A B-727 that had back-taxied earlier, was lined up for an immediate takeoff on runway 9, his lights on. I broadcast[ed] an 'alert, alert, alert, that there was an aircraft on runway 9' on the Flightline Ops (Operations) network, knowing that the tower cab monitored our frequency. The 727 started his takeoff roll, but the Lancair continued taxiing along the edge of the runway. The 727 then went into reverse thrust and under heavy braking, moved to his left on the runway so as to clear the Lancair. His wingtip passed over the Lancair, but no contact was made." No damage was sustained by either airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The unsafe condition caused when the pilot of the other airplane taxied onto the runway. Factors relating to this accident were the pilot of the other airplane not following the instructions given him by the ground marshaller, his wrong taxi route, and him not obtaining clearance to taxi onto the active runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 7/27/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1453
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City OSHKOSH
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54901
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport WITTMAN REGIONAL AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OSH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 808
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID OSH
Elevation of weather observation facility 808
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
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) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
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) 30.22
Density Altitude (feet) 1695
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 8
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11290
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 27 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1453
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2002 2:29PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Registration Number N782AT N163DS
NTSB Number CHI01IA248A CHI01IA248B
Missing Aircraft Indicator -- --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR None
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes No
Damage None None
Aircraft Fire None None
Aircraft Explosion None None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing Smith
Aircraft Model 727-2Q6 Lancair 360
Aircraft Series Identifier -- --
Aircraft Serial Number 21972 751
Certified Max Gross Weight 210000 2042
Aircraft Category Airplane Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No Yes
Flight Crew Seats -- --
Cabin Crew Seats -- --
Passenger Seats -- --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 182 2
Number of Engines 3 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness Annual
Date of Last Inspection -- --
Airframe hours since last inspection -- --
Airframe Hours -- --
ELT Installed No No
ELT Activated No No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No No
ELT Type -- --
Aircraft Owner Name BATA LEASING LLC DONALD J. SMITH
Aircraft Owner Street Address 500 NACHES AVE SW FL 3 9400 E. ILIFF AVENUE, APARTMENT 231
Aircraft Owner City RENTON DENVER
Aircraft Owner State WA CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98055 80231
Operator is an individual? No No
Operator Name AMERICAN TRANS AIR CHARLES H. BRENNER
Operator Same as Owner? No No
Operator Is Doing Business As -- --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No No
Operator Street Address P. O. BOX 51609 3322 BLUE GRASS CIRCLE
Operator City INDIANAPOLIS CASTLE ROCK
Operator State IN CO
Operator Country USA USA
Operator Zip code 46209 80104
Operator Code AMTA --
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 Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes Yes
Departure Airport Code OSH OSH
Departure City OSHKOSH OSHKOSH
Departure State WI WI
Departure Country USA USA
Departure Time 1453 1453
Departure Time Zone CDT CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt -- --
Destination Airport Code MDW --
Destination City CHICAGO Unknown
Destination State IL --
Destination Country USA --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff Taxi - to takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? Yes No
Evacuation occurred No No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2001 3:37PM Jun 17 2005 11:07AM
User who most recently changed record SULP NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident -- --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09 09
Runway Length 6178 6178
Runway Width 150 150
Sight Seeing flight No No
Air Medical Flight No No
Medical Flight -- --