Superior Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Superior, Nebraska 68978
Saturday, May 31, 2003 16:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a climbing departure after takeoff, the aerial application airplane encountered a stall and impacted the terrain. The pilot reported a vibration in the tail followed by an uncontrolled descent. The pilot stated he proceeded to jettison his load of water and lowered the nose to regain control of aircraft. The pilot reported his remedial action was unsuccessful and the aircraft "kept coming down." The pilot's total flight time in the accident make and model aircraft was less than one hour. The pilot indicated the winds were light and variable, however he believed he encountered "bad air" and "lateral wind shear." A local weather observation indicated the winds were light and variable around the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, and the delayed remedial action by the pilot, resulting in a stall. Factors to the accident included the aircraft’s low altitude and the pilot's lack of experience in the make/model of aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/31/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1640
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Superior
Event State NEBRASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 68978
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400246N
Event Location Longitude 0980336W
Event Location Airport Superior Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 12K
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1655 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID CNK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1486
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14196
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 26
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA- Lincoln FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N48597
NTSB Number CHI03LA144
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 80B
Certified Max Gross Weight 4500
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 21 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Frost Flying Service INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 1 Box 28
Aircraft Owner City Esbon
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66941
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 12K
Departure City Superior
Departure State NE
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1640
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2003 11:09AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 3700
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight --
Medical Flight --