Tri-County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Erie, Colorado 80516
Friday, January 6, 2006 12:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he was attempting to depart from runway 33 when he encountered a gust of wind. The airplane veered to the left and departed the runway. The nose wheel got stuck in the soft dirt and the airplane nosed over, causing substantial damage. The winds were reported as 300 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight decision to depart in gusty winds, and the pilot's failure to maintain direction control during the departure roll. The high gusty crosswind contributed to the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/6/2006
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Erie
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80516
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400036N
Event Location Longitude 1050254W
Event Location Airport TRI-COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 48V
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 5130
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1145 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 20000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 60
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 30
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.23
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19487
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Northwest Mountain Region
NTSB Notification Date Jan 6 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
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 N747MD
NTSB Number DEN06CA030
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Appel
Aircraft Model Mustang II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 71-1
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 831
ELT Installed Yes
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 Bailey
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80421
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 48V
Departure City Erie
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAF
Destination City SANTA FE
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 1 2006 10:54AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 4700
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --