Russell Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Russell, Kansas 67665
Friday, March 29, 2002 15:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during taxi for takeoff. The winds were reported as 020 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The pilot reported he had purchased the airplane one day prior to he accident. After about a three hour flight, he landed in order to refuel. After refueling, he back-taxied down runway 35 for takeoff. He reported the winds were 20-25 knots, and that a gust of wind hit the airplane. Within 10-15 seconds, the airplane had nosed over and was upside down. He reported the airplane did not have a mechanical malfunction. The pilot reported that he held a current Third Class Medical Certificate, but his last biennial flight review was on October 3, 1986.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot failed to maintain control of the airplane during the back-taxi. Additional factors were the tailwind and the wind gust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/29/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Russell
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67665
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Russell Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RSL
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 1862
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID RSL
Elevation of weather observation facility 1862
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 18
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12960
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 29 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1538
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2003 4:06PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Wichita FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6156D
NTSB Number CHI02LA098
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-22-150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-4803
Certified Max Gross Weight 2250
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name John Campbell
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1968 Mountain View Dr
Aircraft Owner City Erie
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80516
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name John Sherwin
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 440 S. Lakeshore
Operator City Louisa
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 23093
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 RSL
Departure City Russell
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Unknown
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2003 9:20AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 4401
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --