Springdale Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Springdale, Arkansas 72756
Saturday, January 4, 2003 11:35 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 1,377-hour pilot was not able to maintain directional control while landing on Runway 18. The pilot reported that as the tail came down, the aircraft weathervaned into the wind, heading off the runway towards a deep ditch. The pilot was able to fly the aircraft over the ditch, and the aircraft came to rest when the left main landing gear separated after colliding with a shallow ditch adjacent to a service road. At the time of the accident, the winds were reported from 240 degrees at 10 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing. A contributing factor was the prevailing crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/4/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1135
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Springdale
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72756
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 361035N
Event Location Longitude 0940709W
Event Location Airport Springdale Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ASG
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1353
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
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) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) 1763
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14910
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 5 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:07AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5271V
NTSB Number FTW03LA078
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 Champion
Aircraft Model 7FC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7FC-379
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 Apr 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43
Airframe Hours 4730
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald S. Williams
Aircraft Owner Street Address 102 Kemper Place
Aircraft Owner City Rogers
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 72756
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 --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country USA
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 VBT
Departure City Bentonville
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1120
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ASG
Destination City Springdale
Destination State AR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Dec 31 2003 11:13AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 180
Runway Length 5302
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --