Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Owatonna Degner Rgnl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Owatonna, Minnesota 55060
Wednesday, June 26, 2002 8:38 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane impacted power lines and the terrain following a loss of control shortly after takeoff. A witness reported seeing the airplane in an 80-degree left bank turn. It looked like the airplane was not climbing, but rather was in a level turn just above the treetops. The airplane then entered a steep nose-down attitude, rotated to the left, and went straight down. The airplane was a replica of a 1917 bi-wing Curtiss Jenny, which was powered by a 90 horsepower, liquid cooled, Curtiss OX-5 engine. The airplane had been completed approximately 6 months prior to the accident. Estimates about the number of times the pilot had flown the airplane varied between two and five times. Inspection of the wreckage failed to reveal any pre-existing failure/malfunction which would have resulted in the loss of control. The passenger on the airplane, who was also one of the builders, stated that in his opinion, the airplane was too underpowered to recover from a stall at a low altitude.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the takeoff climb resulting in an inadvertent stall. A factor associated with the accident was the low altitude at which the stall occurred.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/26/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 838 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Owatonna |
| Event State | MINNESOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 55060 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 440704N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0931603W |
| Event Location Airport | Owatonna Degner Rgnl Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OWA |
| 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 | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 1146 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 838 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OWA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1146 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| 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) | 29.87 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2425 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12964 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 26 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1002 |
| 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 | Minneapolis, MN FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N38057 |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA176 |
| 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 | Bar/Curtiss |
| Aircraft Model | JN-4D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | B-010 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1430 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Apr 16 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Reuben W. Kaplan |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1385 NW 36th Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | Owatonna |
| Aircraft Owner State | MN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 55060 |
| 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 | OWA |
| Departure City | Owatonna |
| Departure State | MN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 837 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | OWA |
| Destination City | Owatonna |
| Destination State | MN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - downwind |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 30 2003 9:39AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |