Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rockford, Ohio 45882
Tuesady, September 9, 2003 14:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was owned by the pilot's father-in-law, who maintained a 1,400-foot grass runway at his residence. A witness observed the airplane circling above the runway. He stated that the airplane appeared to be attempting to land, when it struck a utility wire and descended into the ground. The witness added that he did not hear any "sputtering" or unusual engine noises prior to the accident. The airplane was destroyed by a post crash fire. Examination of airman certificate records revealed that the pilot did not posses any airman certificates. Both the pilot and owner failed to provide any information regarding the circumstances of the accident, or the airworthiness history of the airplane, despite requests by both the Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper altitude/clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a utility wire. The owner's improper decision to allow the airplane to be operated by an uncertificated pilot was also causal.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/9/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1440
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Rockford
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45882
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404146N
Event Location Longitude 0843436W
Event Location Airport Private
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID AOH
Elevation of weather observation facility 975
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3300
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 15764
NTSB Notification Source FAA GLOC
NTSB Notification Date Sep 9 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbus

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1072B
NTSB Number NYC03LA198
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1299
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
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 Jerry L. Now
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Rockford
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45882
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 NONE
Departure City Rockford
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Rockford
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2004 12:34PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --