Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Madison County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 16:50 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
At the end of the second leg of a long cross country flight, the pilot cancelled his IFR flight plan about seven miles south of the destination airport. The first leg of the flight was approximately three hours, 40 minutes in length with the pilot reporting unexpected high winds along the route that were slowing his progress. The flight was diverted to an alternate destination for fueling. The second leg was approximately four hours and 50 minutes in length with the pilot reporting to air traffic control toward the end of the flight that the aircraft was picking up mild rime ice on the wings and windshield. The pilot reported to the controller the need to descend due to the ice and "fuel situation." A witness at the airport reported that the pilot radioed his intentions and position over the Unicom frequency that he was entering a left downwind for runway 17. Although the position of that downwind appeared normal, the aircraft stayed on the downwind leg long enough that when it turned from base leg to final approach, it was three to four miles from the end of the runway. The aircraft was then observed to proceed inbound on final approach on a vertical approach path that was significantly lower than what other aircraft normally used when landing on this runway. When the aircraft was just over a mile from the end of the runway, at an estimated altitude of 200 feet above ground level, it suddenly rolled steeply to the right and made a descending turn into the terrain. The pilot, who had been making normal position calls, both prior to and after entering the pattern, did not indicate that he was having any problem with the aircraft. At the time the winds were reported from 210 degrees at 24 knots, with gusts to 36 knots. Post accident inspection of the airframe and engines did not reveal evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while on final approach. High and gusting winds were a factor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/5/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1650 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Rexburg |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83440 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 435056N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1114825W |
| Event Location Airport | Madison County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | RXE |
| 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 | 340 |
| Airport Elevation | 4858 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KRXE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4858 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4200 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 24 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 36 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.56 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15576 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 5 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 3 2004 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Salt Lake FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9257X |
| NTSB Number | SEA03FA042 |
| 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 | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-34-220T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3447002 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4750 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 163 |
| Airframe Hours | 1200 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas Cecola |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Karnack |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75661 |
| 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 | LAA |
| Departure City | Lamar |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1222 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | RXE |
| Destination City | Rexburg |
| Destination State | ID |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 24 2004 11:21AM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 4200 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |