Walker Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
Tuesady, October 14, 2003 15:56 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he had completed an uneventful touch-and-go landing on runway 29 using an approach speed of 67 knots. On the second touch-and-go landing, he used an approach speed of 70 knots. He stated that the airplane's airspeed was stable around the pattern. However, just short of the runway, at approximately 30 feet agl, he encountered a slight "burble." He initiated full power, and when he dropped the nose of the airplane a few degrees, he encountered a second "burble." The pilot stated that "the airplane literally fell out of the sky" and struck the runway. The impact with the runway separated the right main landing gear and the separated right main landing gear struck the right horizontal stabilizer. The nose landing gear collapsed, the right wing tip and propeller struck the runway, and the airplane slid approximately 150 feet. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar and the right horizontal stabilizer. The reported weather conditions at 1553 and 1604, indicated a shift in wind, from 310 degrees at 5 knots to 280 degrees at 8 knots respectively.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper flare and his failure to maintain airspeed resulting in a stall and hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/14/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1556
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Grand Junction
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81506
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 390720N
Event Location Longitude 1083136W
Event Location Airport Walker Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GJT
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 4858
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID GJT
Elevation of weather observation facility 4858
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) 6327
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) 15112
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Oct 14 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1638
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 8:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5659L
NTSB Number DEN04LA010
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 Mooney
Aircraft Model M20K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 25-0762
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 16 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1.5
Airframe Hours 2248
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gary R. Hanson
Aircraft Owner Street Address 61356 Highway 330 E.
Aircraft Owner City Collbran
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81624
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code GJT
Departure City Grand Junction
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code GJT
Destination City Grand Junction
Destination State CO
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 Feb 19 2004 11:25AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 290
Runway Length 10501
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --