Tri-State Stuben County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Angola, Indiana 46703
Sunday, January 6, 2002 17:55 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was destroyed by a post impact fire after it collided with terrain following loss of control while on final approach to land. The pilot reported that he was approximately 500 feet from the runway when the right wing stalled at 130 miles per hour and the aircraft rolled to the right 130 degrees. The pilot stated that he applied full power and rolled the aircraft upright, but it felt like the aircraft was being pushed straight down. He reported that they hit the ground almost flat, bounced, and then slid across the highway before coming to a rest. According to the pilot, he and his two passengers exited the airplane prior to it catching fire.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot 's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and encountered a stall on approach to land. The low altitude on final approach was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/6/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1755
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Angola
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46703
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413808N
Event Location Longitude 0850540W
Event Location Airport Tri-State Stuben County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ANQ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 995
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1825 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID ANQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 995
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 1400
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
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) 29.78
Density Altitude (feet) -392
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12451
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 6 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1937
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2002 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office South Bend, IN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7915K
NTSB Number CHI02LA051
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model S35
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 300599
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 22 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5883
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BGN Partnership
Aircraft Owner Street Address 323 Caroline Srive
Aircraft Owner City Coldwater
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49036
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Mark A. Thrasher
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 2067 S. 600 W.
Operator City Angola
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 46703
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 CAD
Departure City Cadillac
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1656
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ANQ
Destination City Angola
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 18 2002 8:01AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 05
Runway Length 4540
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --