Hardy-Anders Field Natchez Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Natchez, Mississippi 39120
Saturday, July 30, 2005 10:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane with the pilot and three passengers on board was departing for a cross country flight. A pilot witness was standing in front of the airport office building as the accident airplane was taking off on runway 31. He stated that the airplane "started a normal looking departure and climb out." However, "within a few hundred feet," he noticed the climb out was steeper than normal. The airplane started banking to the left while it continued to climb. The airplane "appeared to stall while still banking left," nosed down and impacted the ground. According to the surviving passenger, the takeoff roll was normal. Shortly after takeoff, it felt to her like the right wing and nose of the airplane were abruptly lifted up. She recalled that it was like someone pulled her backwards by her shoulders. At the same time, the pilot made a loud exclamation. She looked toward the pilot and could see through his side window that their height was just above the trees parallel to the runway. She also saw the ground, felt the airplane veer toward the left, and knew they were going to impact the ground. Examination of the wreckage at the accident site indicated the airplane impacted the ground in a left wing low and nose low attitude. No evidence was found of pre-impact mechanical discrepancies with the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operation. According to his logbook, the pilot had accumulated about 126 hours total flight time of which 3.4 hours were in the accident airplane. No record of the pilot receiving any flight instruction from a certified flight instructor in the accident airplane or in any other complex airplane was found. In the endorsements section of the pilot's logbook, the endorsement required by 14 CFR Part 61.31(e), which certifies proficiency to operate a complex airplane, was blank.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent to ground impact. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience in complex airplanes.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/30/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Natchez
Event State MISSISSIPPI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 39120
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313644N
Event Location Longitude 0911752W
Event Location Airport Hardy-Anders Field Natchez
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HEZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 272
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1100 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID HEZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 272
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22320
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 30 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 27 2007 11:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Jackson FSDO-17

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6555U
NTSB Number MIA05FA139
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2338
Certified Max Gross Weight 2575
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 35
Airframe Hours 3758
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ralph W. Gould & Rayworth T. Huff
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1031 E Wenonah Blvd.
Aircraft Owner City Wichita Falls
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76309
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Vincent J. Lewis
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Wichita Falls
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
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 KHEZ
Departure City Natchez
Departure State MS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1045
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KT47
Destination City Wichita Falls
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 18 2007 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 6500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --