Fabens Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fabens, Texas 79838
Saturday, May 19, 2007 9:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 5,149-hour commercial pilot reported that his first flight of the day had been delayed due to thunderstorms moving through the area. The pilot added that as the agricultural airplane reached 50-60 mph during the takeoff roll, the tailwheel became airborne as the pilot encountered a gusting crosswind from the right requiring full right rudder and brakes. The pilot was not able to compensate for the existing conditions and the airplane departed the left side of the 4,120-foot long Runway 26. As the airplane exited the 20-foot wide runway, the 5,149-hour pilot retarded the engine power and dumped the 150-pounds load of agricultural mixture. About the same time, the right landing gear tire sank into the soft ground to the left of the runway and the airplane nosed-over. The airplane came to rest in the inverted position and the pilot was able to egress from the single-engine airplane without injuries. Both wings separated from the airframe during the accident sequence. Weather at the airport was reported as winds from 085 degrees at 2 to 5 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, with scattered clouds at 1,500 feet and an overcast ceiling at 5,200 feet, a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, a dew point of 16 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.14 inches of Mercury. The pilot added that there were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the mishap.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to compensate for the existing wind conditions during takeoff. A contributing factor was the crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/19/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Fabens
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79838
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313056N
Event Location Longitude 1060850W
Event Location Airport FABENS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID E35
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 3640
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 730 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID E35
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5200
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 85
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 8
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report MMCS 191545Z 00000KT 10SM SCT070 BKN250 20/16 A301
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21752
NTSB Notification Source Regional Operations Center FTW
NTSB Notification Date May 19 2007 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 Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3863J
NTSB Number DFW07CA117
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model A188B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18803677
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2007 12:00AM
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 C and D Aerial, Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Clint
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79836
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Clint
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 79836
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code E35
Departure City Fabens
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code E35
Destination City Fabens
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 21 2007 4:42PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 4120
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --