Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ash Fork, Arizona 86320
Saturday, June 7, 2003 13:45 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot collided with trees during the takeoff initial climb. When the pilot departed runway 2 with full fuel and retracted flaps, he was aware of a quartering tailwind he believed to be around 10 knots. The normal procedure was to depart to the north, due to the downward sloping runway. He flew in and out of the airstrip regularly and did not find the current weather conditions unusual. In the past, the pilot calculated the takeoff distance many times, and usually required about 900 feet to rotate. He could not remember if he had performed any takeoff calculations using the weather and airplane conditions immediately prior to the accident. The trees that the airplane collided with were located about 60 feet from the north end of the runway and were approximately 12 feet tall. Due to the slope of the terrain, the treetops were at the runway elevation. The runway was described as being in "poor condition." Density altitude was about 9,800 feet msl. No mechanical problems were noted with the airplane prior to the accident. The pilot stated that future accidents could be prevented by not departing from short airstrips with a tailwind.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall mush condition. Factors were the loose and uneven dirt runway surface, the known tailwind with gusts, and high density altitude.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/7/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1345 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Ash Fork |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86320 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 351700N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1124200W |
| Event Location Airport | Private |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PVT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 5450 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1356 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 87 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7014 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 52 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 19 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 9800 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16363 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 7 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1450 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | LAS-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6902E |
| NTSB Number | LAX03LA185 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 175A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 56402 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2350 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 8 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 40 |
| Airframe Hours | 1994 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John T. Vanderbeek |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Kirkland |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 86332 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Ash Fork |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1345 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| 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 9 2004 3:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 03 |
| Runway Length | 1300 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |