Pine Bluffs Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pine Bluffs, Wyoming 82082
Saturday, January 12, 2008 15:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had been practicing touch-and-go landings when "a very large gust of wind blew [him] completely out of control to the point of approaching airborne." The airplane went off the side of the runway and struck a snow bank, resulting in substantial damage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Contributing factors in this accident were the unfavorable wind and the snow bank.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/12/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Pine Bluffs
Event State WYOMING
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 82082
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 410912N
Event Location Longitude 1040749W
Event Location Airport Pine Bluffs
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 82V
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 5152
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID IBM
Elevation of weather observation facility 4926
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23529
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Northwest Mountain Region
NTSB Notification Date Jan 12 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Cheyenne, Wyoming

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N12606
NTSB Number DEN08LA049
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 172M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17262108
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection 180
Airframe Hours 5828
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Marquardt Farms, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 83
Aircraft Owner City Pine Bluffs
Aircraft Owner State WY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 82082
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 82V
Departure City Pine Bluffs
Departure State WY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 82V`
Destination City Pine Bluffs
Destination State WY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 18 2008 1:17PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 08
Runway Length 5336
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --