Rosenbaum Field Aiport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 54729
Sunday, April 15, 2007 18:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The unoccupied airplane nosed over in a cornfield shortly after the pilot hand-propped the engine. The pilot reported that he had chocked both main landing gear, but there was no one at the aircraft controls during the engine start. Upon engine startup, the engine rpm "increased rapidly" before he had enough time to enter the airplane. The airplane reportedly "climbed over the chocks and started moving" and then traversed into a corn field before nosing over. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had secured the tailwheel with a tie-down for engine start.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot intentionally leaving the airplane unoccupied during the engine start, which resulted in the unoccupied airplane traversing into a cornfield. A factor was the rough/uneven cornfield.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/15/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1830
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Chippewa Falls
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54729
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445936N
Event Location Longitude 0912300W
Event Location Airport Rosenbaum Field Aiport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3WI9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID EAU
Elevation of weather observation facility 913
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
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 None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22008
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 16 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 30 2007 12:18PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Federal Aviation Administration, Milwaukee FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N28428
NTSB Number CHI07CA101
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Luscombe
Aircraft Model 8A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1295
Certified Max Gross Weight 1260
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 Jul 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2848
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David Carlson, Leonard Lowe, James Johnegen
Aircraft Owner Street Address 718 Miles Street
Aircraft Owner City Chippewa Falls
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 54729
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 3W19
Departure City Chippewa Falls
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
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 Standing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 8 2007 2:25PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
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 --