Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Valley Point Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bruceton Mills, West Virginia 26525
Thursday, November 6, 2003 15:29 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness observed the non-certificated pilot arrive at the airport, drinking a quart of beer that was approximately half full. The pilot appeared "sleepy eyed," and shortly after his arrival, fell asleep in a chair. Approximately 40 minutes later, the pilot woke up, "staggered" around, and then asked the witness if he was going to fly. The witness informed the pilot that the weather was too bad to fly (300-foot overcast ceiling; 0-1 mile visibility), and the pilot left the hangar. Several minutes later, the witness heard the accident airplane takeoff and fly for about 15 minutes. A second witness stated she could hear an airplane flying, but could only see its silhouette through the fog. The witness observed the airplane make two passes over a field in her backyard. During the second pass, the witness observed the airplane level just above the tree tops, and descending, with the engine running. She then heard the sound of the throttle being "cut," and thought the pilot was trying to make a landing to "get out of the weather." Shortly after, the airplane impacted a trailer in the witnesses backyard. Examination of the airplane and engine revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies. Examination of a handheld GPS unit, revealed the airplane departed from runway 26 at Valley Point Airport, and headed west. It then circled to the south, and then headed north for about 5-6 miles and then impacted the ground. Weather reported at an airport about 12 miles west of the accident site included an overcast cloud layer at 300 feet, and 1 1/2 miles visibility with light rain and mist. According to the pilot's autopsy report, the pilot had a blood alcohol level of 0.17%, and toxicological testing performed on the pilot, revealed ETHANOL in his blood and urine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's physical impairment due to alcohol and his improper decision to attempt flight with a low cloud ceiling, low visibility, after consuming alcohol. A related factor in the accident was the low cloud ceiling.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/6/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1529 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Bruceton Mills |
| Event State | WEST VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 26525 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 393407N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0793809W |
| Event Location Airport | Valley Point |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | WV29 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1553 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MGW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1248 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| 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) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16782 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 6 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1415 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2004 11:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Charleston FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N23178 |
| NTSB Number | NYC04LA024 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 150H |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15068774 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | Oct 21 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 4660 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David Young |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bruceton Mills |
| Aircraft Owner State | WV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 26525 |
| 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 | WV29 |
| Departure City | Valley Point |
| Departure State | WV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1510 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Bruceton Mills |
| Destination State | WV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2004 1:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| 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 | -- |