Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
La Belle, Missouri 63447
Thursday, November 1, 2007 16:35 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was certified as an Experimental Light Sport Aircraft (E-LSA) four days before the accident. The accident occurred during the airplane's first flight since manufacture. Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane depart and then commence a series of left turns about two miles southeast of the airport. While the airplane was established in a left turn it rolled to the left and entered a near vertical descent. The airplane exploded upon impact and a ground fire ensued. The wreckage was found in a vacant field with no obstructions in the general area of the accident site. The absence of any discernible lateral ground markings was consistent with a near vertical impact. Examination of the recovered wreckage revealed no evidence of a pre-impact mechanical malfunction. The pilot did not have any flight experience in a model 601 XL airplane before the accident flight. The pilot's most current flight review was completed more than 16 years before the accident. According to the pilot's wife, it had been nearly 10 years since he last piloted an aircraft.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience and his total lack of experience in the accident airplane model.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/1/2007 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1635 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | La Belle |
| Event State | MISSOURI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 63447 |
| Event Date Year | 2007 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 400125N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0915226W |
| 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 | 1654 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 100 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KUIN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 768 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 32 |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.24 |
| 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) | 24765 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 1 2007 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 10 2008 4:08PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Federal Aviation Administration - St. Louis FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N634WB |
| NTSB Number | CHI08LA031 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | WRB Associates, LLC. |
| Aircraft Model | Zodiac 601 XL |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 6-6358 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1320 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 28 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WRB Associates, LLC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | RR1 Box 79 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Newark |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 63458 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Stevens Lee Walker |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 302 South Main Street |
| Operator City | Newark |
| Operator State | MO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 63458 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MO09 |
| Departure City | Lewistown |
| Departure State | MO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1630 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | MO09 |
| Destination City | Lewistown |
| Destination State | MO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 10 2008 1:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |