Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Union Star, Missouri 64494
Sunday, September 2, 2007 15:08 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot departed on the solo training flight with instructions to practice ground reference maneuvers, stalls, and steep turns in the local practice area. The accident site was not located near the practice area. Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane circling, climbing, descending, and banking steeply at low altitudes prior to the accident. Witnesses reported the airplane was in a steep left bank when the nose dropped, and the airplane impacted power lines and the terrain. The student pilot had a total of 22.7 hours of flight time. A friend and a relative of the pilot reportedly lived in the area of the accident site.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and the subsequent inadvertent stall while buzzing residences. Contributing to the accident was the pilot performing buzzing maneuvers.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/2/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1508
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Union Star
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64494
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 394619N
Event Location Longitude 0945435W
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 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID STJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 826
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
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) 30.1
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23989
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 2 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2008 9:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Kansas City, MO FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1502V
NTSB Number CHI07LA288
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17263631
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
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 Jan 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 3447
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Trailwinds Flying Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address 502 S US Highway 71
Aircraft Owner City Savannah
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 64485
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Waylon D. Kirtley
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Union Star
Operator State MO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 64494
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 STJ
Departure City St. Joseph
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1347
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
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 25 2008 8:58AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --