Richard B Helgeson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Duluth, Minnesota 55802
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 10:37 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an aborted landing attempt on runway 14, 3050 feet long, by 75 feet wide, dry asphalt. The pilot stated that as he was lowering the tailwheel to the runway, he impacted two geese. The airplane started to "turn to the right" while the pilot tried to correct using left brake, left rudder, and right aileron control inputs. The pilot then added full engine power "to get back in the air." The left wing subsequently contacted the runway and the airplane "flipped on its back" and came to rest inverted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in impact with terrain during an attempted aborted landing. A factor in the accident was the geese impacted during the landing roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/1/2007
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1037
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Duluth
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55802
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 464319N
Event Location Longitude 0920236W
Event Location Airport RICHARD B HELGESON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DYT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
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 1034 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID DYT
Elevation of weather observation facility 610
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 21
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 25
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KDYT 011534Z AUTO 22021G25KT 10SM CLR 28/20 A2984
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) 22127
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
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 --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5016E
NTSB Number CHI07CA253
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 180A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 50316
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2553
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David J Smith
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1713 Hegberg Rd
Aircraft Owner City Duluth
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55804
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 No
Departure Airport Code TWM
Departure City Two Harbors
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code DYT
Destination City Duluth
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 17 2007 4:05PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 3050
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --