Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bisbee, Arizona 85607
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 9:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The unregistered aircraft collided with a steep mountainside. A pilot, who was flying an ultralight in tandem with the accident aircraft, stated that the accident pilot was providing instruction to the student pilot on the cross-country flight. The accident pilot maintained radio communication with him as they both maneuvered through the valleys that led to their intended destination. Throughout the flight, the radio signal was intermittent due to the contours of the terrain. The ultralight pilot further stated that after egressing the valleys he turned around to scan the surrounding area and could not obtain visual contact of the accident aircraft. He headed back up the valley and saw smoke behind a mountain ridge. He circled over the smoke and observed a small brush fire, but could not discern any aircraft structure. He stated that the winds at the time of the accident were calm and there was no turbulence or mountain wave in the areas they were flying. The inaccessibility of the accident site prohibited the wreckage from being recovered.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the mountainous terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/1/2006
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Bisbee
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85607
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313214N
Event Location Longitude 1090515W
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 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 None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
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) 21638
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 1 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 27 2007 1:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number None
NTSB Number LAX07LA027
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Creations
Aircraft Model Tanarg 912
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number TOS004
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NONE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Joel G. Bitow
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Tucson
Operator State AZ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 85755
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code NM70
Departure City Rodeo
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code DUG
Destination City Bisbee
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2007 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --