Flying B Ranch Landing Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Salmon, Idaho 83469
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 17:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot and passenger were returning home after spending several days on an elk hunting trip in the Idaho backcountry. One of them had shot an elk, and they loaded the airplane with the four elk quarters and their personal gear. A witness heard the airplane taking off and it "didn't sound right." He looked towards the 2,000-foot-long grass airstrip and saw the airplane "barely off the ground" heading south. The witness stated that the airplane was "wallowing back and forth, trying to stall out." He further stated that the "motor sounded like a boat cavitating" and "the nose of the airplane was pointed up." The witness watched the airplane as it veered left and impacted the ground tail first. The airplane's nose then "slammed into the ground," and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. A fire erupted, which destroyed the fuselage and the inboard sections of the wings. The accident site was about 1/4 mile from the end of the runway, offset to the left of the runway centerline, and approximately the same elevation as the runway. The site was located on level grass covered terrain. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any abnormalities that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot began flying the airplane, which had been modified by replacement of its original reciprocating engine with a gas turbine engine, about 4 months before the accident and according to his logbook, had accumulated about 22 hours flight time in it. He had about 1,167 hours in other non-modified airplanes of the same make and model. An estimated weight and balance placed the airplane's takeoff weight at 3,729.4 pounds, which was below the maximum gross weight of 4,000 pounds. The estimated center of gravity was 48.57 inches, which was within, but near, the aft limit of 49 inches. A short field landing performance chart indicated that for the approximate accident conditions, the takeoff ground roll would be 1,581 feet and the total distance to clear a 50 foot obstacle would be 2,461 feet. A pilot, who had experience flying the accident airplane, stated the following with respect to its performance: "Weight and balance is very, very critical. With weight aft, you really need to hold the nose down and gain airspeed on takeoff."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to obtain airspeed during the initial takeoff climb, which resulted in a stall/mush and subsequent collision with terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/28/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1715
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Salmon
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83469
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445805N
Event Location Longitude 1144358W
Event Location Airport Flying B Ranch Landing Strip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 12ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3647
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20273
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date Sep 28 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 29 2006 3:49PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Boise, ID

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N45SE
NTSB Number SEA05FA201
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model P210N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number P21000267
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1004
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Marlin Ventures LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 21 Tamal Vista Blvd Suite 194
Aircraft Owner City Corte Madera
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94925
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Alfred S. Wilsey Jr.
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 12ID
Departure City Salmon
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1715
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Boise
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 21 2006 3:40PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location S
Runway Length 2000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --