Wittman Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903
Saturday, August 2, 2003 9:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted a road after takeoff. The pilot reported that the takeoff roll was long and the airplane's engine seemed to lose power. He stated that he "released [the] flaps to gain speed but the engine seem[ed] to have less power." The pilot said that after clearing the fence at the end of the runway, he turned right and crashed on the road. The passenger reported that on the accident flight the pilot used flaps during the takeoff and, in his opinion, the use of the flaps produced enough drag to slow the aircraft's speed on takeoff. A witness stated that he observed the accident airplane during the takeoff, and the airplane was "going too slow, too low, and was climbing too steeply." The witness stated that the airplane then stalled and struck the ground. He stated that the airplane's engine was running until the airplane struck the ground. In his written report, the pilot listed no mechanical malfunction of the airplane. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff, his improper use of flaps during the takeoff, and his failure to attain sufficient airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with a road.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/2/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 920
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Oshkosh
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54903
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 435904N
Event Location Longitude 0883325W
Event Location Airport WITTMAN REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OSH
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 808
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID OSH
Elevation of weather observation facility 808
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15419
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 2 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 910
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1068S
NTSB Number CHI03FA239
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 Gerlach
Aircraft Model Skyraider II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number SRII-036
Certified Max Gross Weight 950
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mark D. Gerlach
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1881 Clairville Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Oshkosh
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54904
Operator is an individual? Yes
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OSH
Departure City Oshkosh
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 920
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Mar 19 2004 8:19AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 1200
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --