Twin Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ada, Minnesota 56510
Saturday, January 4, 2003 20:47 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted trees and terrain during a non-precision instrument approach to land in instrument meteorological conditions, which had variable ceilings below published minimums based upon the closest weather reporting station 27 nautical miles southwest of the airport. The pilot stated he was engrossed in maintaining airspeed, and the passenger reported the pilot was too busy looking for the runway. The pilot further reported the accident could have been avoided if he had landed at his alternate airport.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain the minimum descent altitude and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance. A low ceiling was a factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/4/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 2047
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Ada
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56510
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Twin Valley Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID D00
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 2.7
Degrees magnetic from airport 330
Airport Elevation 954
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID FAR
Elevation of weather observation facility 908
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 1000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
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) 29.98
Density Altitude (feet) -1022
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 1
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13930
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 5 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 141
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 Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Minneapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N37221
NTSB Number CHI03LA046
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 310R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 310R0961
Certified Max Gross Weight 5670
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 6 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 3100
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Zepher Winds LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1848 State Highway 32
Aircraft Owner City Twin Valley
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 56584
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name David A Resnick
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1848 State Highway 32
Operator City Twin Valley
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 56584
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 SPF
Departure City Spearfish
Departure State SD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code D00
Destination City Ada
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - final approach fix (FAF)/outer marker to threshold (IFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2003 3:32PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 3103
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --