Cottonwood Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cottonwood, Idaho 83522
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 9:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While flaring to land, an updraft caused the airplane to rise and touchdown on the main landing gear somewhat hard. After the aircraft bounced, the pilot initiated a go-around with the carburetor heat on and the flaps in the down position. Full power was added, but the plane mushed and came back down, resulting in the left main landing gear collapsing. The aircraft exited the left side of the runway and down a slight incline before impacting a fence and coming to rest in an adjoining pasture.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Factors contributing to the accident were the updraft, the terrain drop-off, and the fence.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/20/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Cottonwood
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83522
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 460220N
Event Location Longitude 1161956W
Event Location Airport Cottonwood Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID S84
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3474
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 956 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 315
Weather Observation Facility ID LWS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1438
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 42
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
Density Altitude (feet) 5246
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) 14684
NTSB Notification Source Spokane Flight Standards
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1020
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2003 8:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane, Washington

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N80978
NTSB Number SEA03LA175
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 Globe
Aircraft Model GC-1B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1171
Certified Max Gross Weight 1710
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 Aug 7 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 887
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Paul E. Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Weiser
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83672
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 S68
Departure City Orofino
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 910
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code S84
Destination City Cottonwood
Destination State ID
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 Sep 29 2003 2:57PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 3100
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --