Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fallon, Nevada 89406
Thursday, December 12, 2002 16:30 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was demonstrating the airplane for a prospective buyer. The pilot was simulating an approach to land with the prospective buyer following through on the flight controls. During a turn to simulated final approach, the prospective buyer inadvertently applied left rudder. The pilot corrected with right aileron, which resulted in the airplane slipping and then impacting the ground. The pilot recommended better instruction to passengers to prevent future accidents. Post accident flight control continuity was established.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a low altitude maneuver. Contributing factors were the inadequate passenger briefing regarding the flight controls and the passenger's inadvertent use of the rudder.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/12/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City FALLON
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89406
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393000N
Event Location Longitude 1184500W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID RNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 4412
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 47
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) 4410
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15933
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Dec 12 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1940
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-RNO-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N87800
NTSB Number LAX03LA049
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-12
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 12-2
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 25 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 73
Airframe Hours 2329
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Albert Lattin
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Winnemucca
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89445
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 No
Departure Airport Code FLX
Departure City FALLON
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone PST
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 27 2004 2:18PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --