Hutchinson Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hutchinson, Minnesota 55350
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 9:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted swampy terrain while maneuvering during initial climb. The pilot reported that after takeoff, while on initial climb out of ground effect, he decided to turn from a northwest heading to the east. The pilot stated he saw obstacles ahead of the airplane while on an easterly heading, so he decided to continue the turn to the south to avoid them. The pilot reported that during the turn the airplane descended into the swamp. The pilot did not report experiencing any malfunctions or failures with the airframe or its engine. The pilot stated the accident could have been prevented by "more airspeed over wings."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the low altitude turn after takeoff. A factor to the accident was the low altitude and the swampy terrain condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/2004
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 940
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Hutchinson
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55350
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445136N
Event Location Longitude 0942257W
Event Location Airport Hutchinson Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HCD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 135
Airport Elevation 1060
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 936 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID HCD
Elevation of weather observation facility 1060
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) 1442
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16030
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 23 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1418
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 Federal Aviation Administration - Minneapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5339
NTSB Number CHI04CA163
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 611
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 80
Airframe Hours 7500
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeffery Kyle Lux
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1277 Sunburst Way, Southeast
Aircraft Owner City Hutchinson
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55350
Operator is an individual? Yes
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) Aerial Observation
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code HCD
Departure City Hutchinson
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 940
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code HCD
Destination City Hutchinson
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 9 2004 4:43PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --