Pontiac Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pontiac, Illinois 61764
Monday, May 5, 2003 14:14 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with the terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering during a training flight. The purpose of the flight was for one certified flight instructor (CFI) to give another CFI a checkout in a turboprop airplane. One witness described the airplane flying swath runs prior to making a wing over type maneuver and entering a spin. Several other witnesses describe the airplane being in a slight nose down spin prior to it impacting the ground. Inspection of the airplane failed to reveal any pre-existing failure/malfunction which would have resulted in the loss of control.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor associated with the accident was the low altitude maneuver.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/5/2003
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1414
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Pontiac
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61764
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 405542N
Event Location Longitude 0883753W
Event Location Airport Pontiac Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PNT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4
Degrees magnetic from airport 210
Airport Elevation 659
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1405 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID PNT
Elevation of weather observation facility 659
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 26
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.52
Density Altitude (feet) 2219
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15423
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 5 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1529
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 Springfield, IL FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N503D
NTSB Number CHI03LA118
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-503A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 503A-0067
Certified Max Gross Weight 9700
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pontiac Flying Service, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 15755 E. 2000 North Road
Aircraft Owner City Pontiac
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61764
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PNT
Departure City Pontiac
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1315
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PNT
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Descent - uncontrolled
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 26 2004 8:15AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --