Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Mid Valley Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Los Lunas, New Mexico 87031
Sunday, May 25, 2003 14:48 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to one witness, the airplane passed over the airpark and entered on a left downwind leg for landing. When the airplane turned onto final approach, it was crabbing about 45 degrees into a strong, gusty, right crosswind. The wings were "wobbling." The witness called the pilot on the radio and suggested that he abandon the approach, and maneuver to land on the closed crosswind runway (it was closed because it was used only as a taxiway). The pilot acknowledged. Another witness saw the airplane nose pitch up, then it made a tight left-hand turn onto the crosswind leg and collided with power lines. Other witnesses in the area said there were rain showers and hail "the size of a quarter." The power lines consisted of 6 conductors and 2 static lines. The lower of the two static lines (#38 EHS, stainless steel, 0.36 inches in diameter), bore paint scrapes of the same color as the airplane's wing. This part of the wire was 55 feet, 10 inches above the ground.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the transmission wire. Contributing factors were the high wind, the pilot's decision to make a low-altitude turn onto the crosswind leg, and the power line.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/25/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1448 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Los Lunas |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 87031 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344509N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1064409W |
| Event Location Airport | Mid Valley Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | E98 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 4830 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1556 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 15 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ABQ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5355 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 27 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 19 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 31 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 6604 |
| 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) | 18587 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA COMM CTR |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 25 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1557 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 27 2005 6:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N93971 |
| NTSB Number | DEN03FA087 |
| 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 | Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp.) |
| Aircraft Model | 415D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1294 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1400 |
| 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 | Jun 25 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3335 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David L. Marshall |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Alamogordo |
| Aircraft Owner State | NM |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 88310 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | On File |
| Operator City | Los Lunas |
| Operator State | NM |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 87031 |
| 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 | ATS |
| Departure City | Artesia |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1245 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | E98 |
| Destination City | Los Lunas |
| Destination State | NM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 23 2005 2:07PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 4340 |
| Runway Width | 40 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |