St. Marys Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Marys, Georgia 31558
Sunday, December 21, 2003 15:24 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the second landing the aircraft bounced approximately one foot. After the bounce the pilot decided that it would be best to go around. The pilot felt a sudden, strong vibration. The pilot thought he did not have enough runway to make a safe landing so he continued the takeoff. The pilot stated that he checked the instruments and saw that the engine was running at 3100 RPM, but the airspeed was decreasing and the vibration was increasing. He increased the pitch of the airplane just before a row of trees at the end of the runway and made it over the top of the trees. The pilot pitched the nose of the airplane back down and turned slightly to the left to avoid some taller trees and headed towards a clearing in the woods by a river. The airplane's landing gear struck the tops of trees 80 feet high. The airplane came to rest inverted three feet from the ground in the bushes. The airplane caught on fire. Both the pilot and passenger were able to get out of their seatbelts and crawl out of the plane. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during climb out which resulted in a stall and inflight collision with trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/21/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1524
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City St. Marys
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31558
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 304517N
Event Location Longitude 0813326W
Event Location Airport St. Marys Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4J6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 24
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID KJAX
Elevation of weather observation facility 30
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17100
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Dec 21 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 27 2005 3:52PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Atlanta FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N93PC
NTSB Number ATL04LA050
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Baker
Aircraft Model KR-2
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 727466B
Certified Max Gross Weight 1050
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Sep 28 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 38.6
Airframe Hours 162
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Brian J. Kraut
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7381 Mayapple Road
Aircraft Owner City Jacksonville
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32211
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 4J6
Departure City St. Marys
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1454
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 4J6
Destination City St. Marys
Destination State GA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --