Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Edna, Texas 77957
Friday, May 26, 2006 20:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft crashed into a lake after entering a spin. The 48-hour private pilot and pilot rated passenger were observed "buzzing" a campground and performing wingover-type maneuvers while at a low altitude. The airplane was also observed to dip its main tires into the lake during several passes and at times appeared "to be almost hovering" into the wind. Several witnesses observed the single-engine tail wheel equipped airplane continued to maneuver in the vicinity of the campground for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. On the airplane's last pass near the campground, the airplane was observed to climb steeply to an altitude of approximately 500 to 700 feet above ground level (agl) before it entered a right spin and began a rapid descent in a nose low attitude. The airplane spun approximately three turns before impacting the surface of a lake. The wreckage came to rest about 20-feet below the lake's surface and approximately 500-feet east of the shore of the campground. The wreckage of the airplane was floated to the lake's surface and then pulled on shore by rescue personnel. The investigation revealed that the airplane had accumulated a total of 405 hours since new. Flight control continuity was established and no pre-impact anomalies were noted with the airframe or the engine that could have prevented normal operation. The pilot and passenger tested positive for ethanol; however, according to the FAA's Forensic Toxicology Research Team Lead, it was not possible to discern what amount of ethanol came from consumption and what came from postmortem ethanol production.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's ostentatious display while maneuvering at low altitude which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent impact with the water.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/26/2006
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2005
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Edna
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77957
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 285630N
Event Location Longitude 0963213W
Event Location Airport --
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1951 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID VCT
Elevation of weather observation facility 115
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2900
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 14
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.8
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) 21443
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 26 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N166MA
NTSB Number DFW06FA140
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aviat
Aircraft Model A-1B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2235
Certified Max Gross Weight 2000
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 130
Airframe Hours 405
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Flying Farm Boys Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address 700 N Wells Street Suite 206
Aircraft Owner City Edna
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77957
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Shannon Simnacher
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Ganado
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77962
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City LA WARD
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1925
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 Maneuvering - turn to reverse direction
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 3 2007 2:16PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
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 --