Costello Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oak Grove, Louisiana 71263
Saturday, January 5, 2002 10:10 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness stated that he heard the airplane over fly the private airport at what sounded like a "low altitude." The witness went outside and observed the airplane approximately 1/4 of a mile southeast, at 300 feet above the ground, in a steep left bank. The airplane entered a spin, rotated 1-1.5 times, and impacted the ground. The witness reported that the cloud base was approximately 500 feet agl. On the day prior to the accident date, the instrument-rated pilot flew the airplane to a private ranch. Concerned with the deteriorating weather conditions, the pilot elected to depart the ranch one day earlier than he had planned, then return to the ranch via his vehicle. Prior to departure, the pilot obtained a weather briefing and visual flight rules (VFR) was not recommended for his route of flight. The pilot purchased the airplane in August 1994, and reported on an insurance form, dated May 14, 2001, that he accumulated 1,081 flight hours in the accident airplane make and model. Examination of the airplane and engines revealed no evidence of any pre-impact discrepances.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/5/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1010
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Oak Grove
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71263
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325749N
Event Location Longitude 0912505W
Event Location Airport Costello
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 27A7
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 75
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID MLU
Elevation of weather observation facility 79
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 42
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12776
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communications Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 5 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1140
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2003 4:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N77RY
NTSB Number FTW02FA062
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model 95-B55
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number TC-1747
Certified Max Gross Weight 5100
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32.2
Airframe Hours 3187.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert W. Young
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2705 Bayou Lane
Aircraft Owner City Monroe
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71281
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 No
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Avon
Departure State MS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 955
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code MLU
Destination City Monroe
Destination State LA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 3 2002 12:41PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --