Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Clark Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Stephenville, Texas 76401
Wednesday, January 1, 2003 15:55 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped homebuilt airplane lost control of the aircraft during the takeoff roll from the 4,200-foot long by 75-foot wide asphalt Runway 32. The 647-hour instrument-rated private pilot stated that he applied full power slowly, holding back pressure on the controls until the airplane became airborne. During the transition from back pressure to forward pressure a gust of wind came from the west. The pilot was unable to compensate for the wind in a timely fashion to maintain directional control of the airplane. The airplane became airborne after cresting the top of a berm on the east side of the runway, and landed hard on the far side of the berm, spraying the landing gear. The nearest weather reporting station, which is located 34-nautical miles north of the accident site, reported winds from 290 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 24 knots. The peak winds were reported from 270 degrees at 27 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of directional control as result of his failure to compensate for the prevailing wind conditions. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswinds.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/1/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1555 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Stephenville |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 76401 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 321255N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0981039W |
| Event Location Airport | Clark Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SEP |
| 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 | 320 |
| Airport Elevation | 1320 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MWL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1300 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 34 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 17 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 24 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.7 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15678 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA, Fort Worth, TX |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 1 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1615 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2004 12:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Fort Worth, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N335BW |
| NTSB Number | FTW03LA069 |
| 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 | Wood |
| Aircraft Model | Thorp T-18 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 720 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1585 |
| 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 | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 7 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 365 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Robert L. Wood |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 936 Westmont Dr |
| Aircraft Owner City | Houston |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77015 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 926 Westmont Drive |
| Operator City | Houston |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77015 |
| 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 | SEP |
| Departure City | Stephenville |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1555 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | HPY |
| Destination City | Baytown |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - roll/run |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 5 2004 3:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 32 |
| Runway Length | 4200 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |