Na Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Monte Vista, Colorado 81144
Sunday, December 12, 2004 13:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying over his parents' house at approximately 500 feet. Several witnesses saw the airplane pitch up and another witness stated that the airplane "stalled off to the left wing." The airplane nosed over and spiraled down. One witness stated that at approximately 50 feet agl, the airplane appeared to "pull out"; however, the airplane impacted the ground in a 45 degree nose down attitude. The airplane bounced and came to rest approximately 130 feet from the initial impact point. The airplane was substantially damaged. A post-accident examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall during low level flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/12/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Monte Vista
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81144
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373142N
Event Location Longitude 1060248W
Event Location Airport NA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1252 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 115
Weather Observation Facility ID ALS
Elevation of weather observation facility 7539
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 29
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
Density Altitude (feet) 8440
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 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17841
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Dec 12 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1342
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver FAA Flight Standards District Office

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N23375
NTSB Number DEN05LA035
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 Piper
Aircraft Model J3C-65
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3121
Certified Max Gross Weight 1130
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 Apr 24 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40
Airframe Hours 4065
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name On File
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Del Norte
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 81132
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 8V1
Departure City Del Norte
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1225
Departure Time Zone MST
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 14 2005 12:36PM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
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 --