Mcgehee Catfish Restaurant Apt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marietta, Oklahoma 73448
Sunday, August 4, 2002 14:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot reported in his initial statement that the airplane rotated about one-third of the way down the runway. In a subsequent statement he said rotation was delayed until near the end of the runway. After initial takeoff climb, the pilot said the autopilot unexpectedly engaged causing the airplane to enter a climbing turn to the right. After manually overpowering the autopilot, the aircraft stalled and rotated to the left before impacting tree tops and coming to rest in a wings level, nose low attitude. The pilot said that he did not respond to the situation immediately, as he was stunned by what was happening. He also said he didn't observe the autopilot light, and didn't think to disengage the autopilot. The right seat passenger, a commercially rated pilot, said he was certain the aircraft was airborne shortly after crossing a road which bisects the runway approximately one-third of the way down the airstrip. The passenger reported hearing the stall warning sound intermittently for 3 to 4 seconds, stop for 2 to 3 seconds, and then begin sounding continuously. At this point the passenger observed a definitive nose up attitude as he watched the airspeed decrease and the aural stall warning continue for about 8 to 10 seconds before the right wing dropped. He then observed the pilot pull back on the control yoke. The aircraft then drifted to the left before the left wing began impacting trees. The passenger also said he wasn't sure if the pilot had inadvertently engaged the autopilot after takeoff. Post-accident examination of the autopilot system components by an FAA inspector and the autopilot manufacturer did not disclose any evidence of malfunctions or abnormal autopilot operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/4/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Marietta
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73448
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 335404N
Event Location Longitude 0971004W
Event Location Airport McGehee Catfish Restaurant Apt
Event Location Nearest Airport ID T40
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 760
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 3
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13995
NTSB Notification Source FAA Commuication Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 4 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1606
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N431ME
NTSB Number FTW02LA224
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8431
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Jun 12 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 1319
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Theodore A. McElroy
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Broken Arrow
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 74012
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 T40
Departure City Marietta
Departure State OK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1415
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 84OL
Destination City Broken Arrow
Destination State OK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 16 2003 12:19PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 2450
Runway Width 55
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --