Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Elk City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elk City, Idaho 83525
Thursday, December 25, 2003 18:25 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported he was unable to land at the planned destination due to deteriorating weather conditions and diverted to Grangeville, Idaho, approximately 33 miles to the southeast. The pilot arrived at the alternate airport, but stated he was unable to activate the runway lights and elected to divert to Elk City, Idaho. The pilot stated he attempted to land, however, aborted the landing due to snowmobiles on the runway. The pilot stated multiple attempts to land were made, but each was aborted due to snowmobile activity on the runway. The pilot stated that during the climb after the last landing attempt, "the crash occurred with no remembrance of the crash." According to the manager of the Elk City Airport, the airplane made several low passes over the runway. He reported that on the last pass, from north to south, he observed the airplane making a steep climbing turn to the left. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted wooded terrain east of the runway. The airport manager also stated that there were snowmobiles operating on and around the airstrip prior to the accident. He reported that the snowmobile operators were attempting to guide the pilot to the unlit runway. The Elk City Airport is located in mountainous terrain. The airport elevation is 4,097 feet above sea level. The airport has a single turf/gravel curved runway that is 2,600 feet long and 150 feet wide. The U.S. Government Airport/Facilities Directory (A/FD) states that the runway is not maintained in the winter. The airport is not equipped with a rotating beacon or runway lighting. The accident occurred approximately two hours after sunset, in dark night conditions. At the time of the accident, the runway was covered with approximately 12 inches of snow. FAA records indicated the pilot received a private pilot certificate (SEL), on December 20, 2003, five days prior to the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees during a go-around. Factors include dark night conditions and trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/25/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1825 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Elk City |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83525 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 454922N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1152613W |
| Event Location Airport | ELK CITY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | S90 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.05 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 4097 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1856 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 264 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KLWS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1438 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 74 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 4 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16194 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 25 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1910 |
| 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 | Spokane, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1363U |
| NTSB Number | SEA04LA030 |
| 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 | 172M |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17267034 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2600 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 13 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5211 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael D. Dahle |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Preston |
| Aircraft Owner State | ID |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 83263 |
| 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 | U10 |
| Departure City | PRESTON |
| Departure State | ID |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1550 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | S90 |
| Destination City | ELK CITY |
| Destination State | ID |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 22 2004 5:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 14 |
| Runway Length | 2600 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |