Leaders Clear Lake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clear Lake, Minnesota 55319
Tuesady, September 25, 2001 10:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft went off of the left side of the runway during takeoff and nosed over. The pilot said in a written report, "I started the take off on the paved runway, which is 25 feet wide. The airplane veered to the left shortly after the tail came up and although I was using full right rudder, I was not able to straighten the airplane out. I got about a foot high and I was in a soybean field adjacent to runway 36. I attempted to correct the direction but hit first the right wheel and then the left wheel. When the left wheel hit, we ground looped. During the ground loop the airplane flipped over and the left wing was broken. The ground is relatively level at the airport and the 25 foot wide paved runway is located in the center of the 3000 foot by 150 foot runway 18-36." The pilot listed no mechanical malfunctions or failures is his report. No anomalies were found with respect to the airplane that could be associated with a pre-impact condition.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot not maintaining directional control of the airplane during the takeoff. A factor was the soybean crop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/25/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1020
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Clear Lake
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55319
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport LEADERS CLEAR LAKE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8Y6
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 990
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID STC
Elevation of weather observation facility 1024
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.38
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11811
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 26 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 4 2002 9:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Minneapolis, Minnesota

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N81910
NTSB Number CHI01LA323
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aeronca
Aircraft Model 7EC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7AC-533
Certified Max Gross Weight 1190
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 3 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 1882
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mark S. Jeffries
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10820 North Shore Road
Aircraft Owner City Waconia
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55387
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 8Y6
Departure City Clear Lake
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1020
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code Y58
Destination City SLEEPY EYE
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 15 2002 12:56PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --