Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
St. Johns Industrial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
St. Johns, Arizona 85936
Monday, June 30, 2003 11:45 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane ground looped during the landing roll out on runway 14. The pilot checked the automated surface observation system (ASOS) and noted it was an hour old. He then overflew the airport and checked the windsock. The windsock was indicating wind conditions 180 degrees different than the ASOS. The pilot then called on the Unicom and verified that the winds were blowing opposite the direction as indicated on the ASOS. The Unicom operator, who is also the airport manager, confirmed the pilot's observation, and the pilot landed the airplane. During the landing roll out, the wind shifted from a right quartering headwind to a right quartering tailwind that blew the airplane to the right. It ground looped, impacted a ditch, and bent the left wing approximately 3 feet inboard of the wing tip. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions prior to the accident. The METAR reports for the St. Johns airport were reviewed. At 1154, the winds were from 260 degrees at 14 knots. For the 1254 observation, the winds were from 300 degrees at 7 knots, gusting to 15; the winds during the hour were noted to be variable from 230 to 030 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting and shifting wind conditions, which resulted in a failure to maintain directional control and a ground loop. The gusting and shifting wind conditions were factors in the accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/30/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1145 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | St. Johns |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85936 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344900N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1092400W |
| Event Location Airport | St. Johns Industrial Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | SJN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1154 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SJN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| 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) | 33 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.22 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14065 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 30 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1336 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2003 9:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-SDL-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6216M |
| NTSB Number | LAX03CA219 |
| 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 | Stinson |
| Aircraft Model | 108-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 108-4216 |
| 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 | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Keith Lassen |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bradenton |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34209 |
| 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 | LSV |
| Departure City | Las Vegas |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1145 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | E24 |
| Destination City | Whiteriver |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing - roll |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 22 2003 4:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 14 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |