Western Sky Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Salome, Arizona 85348
Monday, June 23, 2003 7:10 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Upon the pilot taking off in an unfamiliar airplane, the engine stuttered. The pilot aborted the takeoff. According to the owner of the airplane who witnessed the accident, it sounded as though the throttle had been "chopped." The airplane suddenly pitched up, climbed 30 feet, and then dropped 30 feet, breaking off the nose landing gear assembly. After the first impact, the engine regained power. The plane flew erratically for 1/2 the runway length approximately 30 feet above the runway. No stutter was heard after the airplane became airborne again. Instead, it sounded as though the engine was being throttled up and down. The airplane looked to be out of control and struck the ground, coming to rest in a ditch. Post accident inspection revealed the two spark plugs from the rear cylinders were "dark and sooty." Flight control continuity was established.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's excessive use of the controls during an aborted takeoff, and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in a stall/mush. Factors in the accident include the pilot's lack of familiarity with the airplane and an excessively rich mixture setting due to the lack of a mixture control on this engine installation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/2003
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 710
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Salome
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85348
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334641N
Event Location Longitude 1133830W
Event Location Airport Western Sky Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 0AZ2
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 1930
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 656 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 248
Weather Observation Facility ID KBLH
Elevation of weather observation facility 397
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 55
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.62
Density Altitude (feet) 1600
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) 16372
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 23 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
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-FDSO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N128RD
NTSB Number LAX03LA209
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 Davis
Aircraft Model LG2H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 11200H
Certified Max Gross Weight 1150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Oct 2 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17.4
Airframe Hours 242.4
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William Goodman
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Salome
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85348
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 0AZ2
Departure City Salome
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 710
Departure Time Zone --
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 - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 12 2004 5:20PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --