Coltey Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Poultney, Vermont 05764
Sunday, November 4, 2007 19:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot told an FAA inspector that he was constructing a runway on his property and was anxious to "try it out." When the airplane landed, the right wheel struck a rock and the airplane ground looped to the right. The pilot tried to recover and the airplane ground looped to the left. It eventually went down into a ditch. Both wings were crushed and the engine was pushed back into the cockpit. The FAA inspector said the runway was in no condition to accommodate aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's attempt to land on an unimproved airstrip resulting in a ground loop/swerve. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's poor judgement in attempting to land on an unsuitable runway and the unsuitable runway conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/4/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Poultney
Event State VERMONT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 05764
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 432100N
Event Location Longitude 0731400W
Event Location Airport Coltey
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
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 430
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 22897
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Northeast Region
NTSB Notification Date Nov 5 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jan 30 2008 4:08PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland, Maine

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N89120
NTSB Number DEN08CA026
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 8128
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard G. Coltey
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2057 Griffin Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Poultney
Aircraft Owner State VT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 05764
Operator is an individual? No
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 DDH
Departure City Bennington
Departure State VT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City Poultney
Destination State VT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 3 2008 3:39PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --