Private Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ray, North Dakota 58849
Wednesday, August 14, 2002 8:50 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage when the airplane stalled during takeoff and impacted the terrain. The pilot reported he had returned to the airstrip in order to fix a plugged spray nozzle. He landed on the southwest runway of the grass airstrip. Once the nozzle was fixed he departed to the northeast. He reported he departed on the northeast runway due to a construction crane located at the southwest end of the runway. He estimated he departed with a 3-4 knot tailwind. He reported, "Upon liftoff, enough airspeed was not obtained to be able to clear the tree row. Once out of ground effect, a stall occurred which may have come from a downdraft + or the possibility of a spark plug fowling while idling to fix nozzle." He reported, "Upon realizing the stall, power was pulled back + had to land in grain field."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot inadvertently stalled the airplane during takeoff. A factor was the tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 850
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Ray
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58849
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 481040N
Event Location Longitude 1033832W
Event Location Airport PRIVATE AIRSTRIP
Event Location Nearest Airport ID XXX
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source --
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 --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 Docket Number (internal use) 12279
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 14 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1418
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 20 2002 10:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Fargo FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7634Z
NTSB Number CHI02CA248
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-25-235
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 25-3766
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JEFFREY KNOX
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 22
Aircraft Owner City RAY
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name JEFFREY T. KNOX
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City RAY
Operator State ND
Operator Country USA
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Ray
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 3 2002 7:51AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 050
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --