Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Bruner Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Latexo, Texas 75849
Sunday, July 18, 2004 13:51 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness, standing near the approach end of runway 17 (a 2,500 feet long by 50 feet wide turf runway), stated that the 180-hour pilot went through his pre-flight checklist and began his take-off roll. The witness further stated that the tailwheel-equipped airplane veered off to the left and into some tall grass to the left of the runway. The airplane became airborne for a moment and then settled back down in a level attitude. The airplane again lifted off of the runway and it was at this point the witness noticed the pilot "trying to close" the canopy on the airplane. The airplane remained airborne at what appeared to be "just above stall speed." Subsequently, the airplane banked to the left and stalled. The witness lost sight of the airplane as it went down behind some trees, short of the departure end of runway 17 and "several hundred feet" to the left. Near the time of the accident, the closest weather reporting station reported winds from 330 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 14 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky scattered at 4,900 feet msl, temperature 35 degrees Celsius, dew point 17 degrees Celsius, and a barometric pressure of 29.94 inches of Mercury.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and attain adequate airspeed resulting in a stall. Contributing factors were the pilot's diverted attention with closing the canopy, and the quartering crosswind.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/18/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1351 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Latexo |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 75849 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 312324N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0952823W |
| Event Location Airport | Bruner Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 8TS3 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 387 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1345 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 335 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PSN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 26 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 35 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.94 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2833 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16524 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 19 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 700 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 28 2004 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Houston, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N996NC |
| NTSB Number | FTW04LA189 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Calhoun |
| Aircraft Model | RV-4 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 |
| 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 | Jul 10 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0.5 |
| Airframe Hours | 25 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Ronald R. Calhoun |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 731 ACR 378 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Palestine |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 75801 |
| 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 | 8TS3 |
| Departure City | Latexo |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1350 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 30 2004 3:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 2500 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |