Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Norman, Oklahoma 73071
Tuesady, January 21, 2003 12:30 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 3,300-hour commercial pilot lost control of the airplane while circling an area of disturbed dirt along the path of a buried pipeline during an aerial observation flight (pipeline patrol). The operator reported that pipeline patrolling is normally performed from an altitude of 400 to 500 feet above the ground. The range of the airplane, when all tanks are full of fuel is 6 hours; however, the company procedures are to not exceed 4 hours between refueling stops. The operator reported that the pipeline being patrolled at the time of the accident was aligned on a heading of 50-60 degrees. The prevailing winds at the time of the accident were reported from 030 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 19 knots. The hand-held GPS on-board the airplane provided the track of the airplane to impact with the ground. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine that could have prevented normal flight operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, resulting in an inadvertent stall . Factors contributing to the accident were the low altitude and the prevailing high winds.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/21/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1230 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Norman |
| Event State | OKLAHOMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 73071 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 351025N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0971301W |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1230 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OUN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| 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) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 19 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 136 |
| 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) | 15486 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA, Oklahoma City |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 21 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1430 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2004 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N47257 |
| NTSB Number | FTW03FA086 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 152 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 152-83200 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 15 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10039 |
| Airframe Hours | 10039 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Sharron H. Howdle |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | Rural Route 10, Box 915 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Roanoke |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 76262 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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) | Aerial Observation |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CHK |
| Departure City | Chickasha |
| Departure State | OK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1105 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| 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 | Mar 25 2004 4:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| 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 | -- |