Casa Grande Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Casa Grande, Arizona 85222
Thursday, June 12, 2003 15:43 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane ground looped on runway touchdown after it encountered a crosswind gust. As a result, the right wing rose, and the aircraft veered 20 degrees to the right of the runway. The pilot attempted to recover by quickly adding power, but the left wingtip impacted the ground. The aircraft ground looped and came to rest inverted about 40 yards north of the runway. The Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) reported winds from 200 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots. The Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) reported winds from 280 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 17 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, and his failure to maintain aircraft control resulting in an inadvertent ground loop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/12/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1543
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Casa Grande
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85222
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 325717N
Event Location Longitude 1114600W
Event Location Airport Casa Grande Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CGZ
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 1464
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1515 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CGZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1464
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.73
Density Altitude (feet) 4409
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16369
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 12 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
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 WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6030V
NTSB Number LAX03LA195
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 Boeing Stearman
Aircraft Model E75
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-3630
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 May 5 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 6490
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard Elzinga
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Oxnard
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93035
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 BLH
Departure City Blythe
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CGZ
Destination City Casa Grande
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 12 2004 5:30PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 5200
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --