Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Orange City, Iowa 51041
Friday, October 3, 2003 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was destroyed after impacting trees and terrain. There were no witnesses to the accident. The aircraft was found in the northwest corner of a small field about 75 yards away from two farm buildings and a silo. The pilot's father owned the property. The destroyed aircraft was found in a near vertical position with the wreckage contained in a single area. Several trees located approximately 10 yards to the west of the wreckage were missing branches at an estimated height of 10-40 feet AGL. The inspection of the airplane revealed no pre-impact anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance from the trees while manuevering at a low altitude. A factor was the trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/3/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Orange City
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 51041
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 425925N
Event Location Longitude 0960346W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 345
Weather Observation Facility ID ORC
Elevation of weather observation facility 1414
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16033
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 3 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1920
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Des Moines FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1909K
NTSB Number CHI04LA003
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 Luscombe
Aircraft Model 8E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 4636
Certified Max Gross Weight 1400
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 May 2 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 1533.4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Wesley Huisman
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3983 Jackson Ave.
Aircraft Owner City Orange City
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 51041
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 ORC
Departure City Orange City
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 23 2004 5:32PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --