Iowa Falls Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Iowa Falls, Iowa 50126
Monday, January 21, 2002 16:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane nosed over following a loss of control during landing. The pilot reported the winds were from 240 degrees at 11 knots and the landing was being made on runway 31. He reported he lowered the left wing and applied right rudder during the approach to compensate for the crosswind. The pilot reported that the airplane bounced during the landing and he did not react quickly enough by once again lowering the wing. He reported the wind lifted the left wing so that the airplane was on the right main gear only. He reported that it seemed the airplane was going to ground loop. He applied right rudder to stop the ground loop, but by that time the airplane was off the side of the runway. The airplane traveled into a plowed bean field where it nosed over and tipped onto the right wing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the crosswind condition and the subsequent failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were the crosswind and the rough terrain encountered.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1615
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Iowa Falls
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 50126
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Iowa Falls Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IFA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1137
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID ALO
Elevation of weather observation facility 873
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 46
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.83
Density Altitude (feet) 351
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12172
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 23 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Des Moines, IA FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9248D
NTSB Number CHI02LA068
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-22-160
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-6308
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Oct 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 2396.9
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mark G. McGovern
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1075 University Avenue
Aircraft Owner City DuBuque
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 52001
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 DBQ
Departure City DuBuque
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code IFA
Destination City Iowa Falls
Destination State IA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2002 8:34AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 4001
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --