Missouri Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555
Friday, October 18, 2002 15:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane, piloted by a student pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain following a loss of control while attempting an aborted landing. A witness stated that he saw the airplane approaching to land but did not observe the landing. He stated that he saw the airplane climb out at a very steep angle. He said the airplane appeared to stall when it was at an altitude of about 300 feet above the ground. He said that, when the airplane stalled, the right wing dropped and the airplane entered a vertical dive. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground. Another witness said that he saw the airplane approaching the runway from the south. He said that the airplane was, "coming in fast and steep," and that the airplane hit the runway at a steep angle. The airplane had not been issued an airworthiness certificate or amateur built operating limitations by the Federal Aviation Administration. An examination of the wreckage revealed no preexisting anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control and adequate airspeed, resulting in the inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was the low altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/18/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1540
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Missouri Valley
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 51555
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport MISSOURI VALLEY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K35
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 1000
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1552 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID OMA
Elevation of weather observation facility 984
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.77
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13569
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 18 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 1 2003 9:44AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Des Moines, Iowa

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N228DW
NTSB Number CHI03LA013
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Wondrasek
Aircraft Model Rans S-10 Sakota
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight 960
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 Unknown
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 David J. Wondrasek
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5330 S. 150th Ct. Apt. 112
Aircraft Owner City Omaha
Aircraft Owner State NE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 68135
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 90IA
Departure City Missouri Valley
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone UTC
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 Go-around (VFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 11 2003 6:45PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 2400
Runway Width 25
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --