Brigham City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Brigham City, Utah 84302
Saturday, January 19, 2008 17:20 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot took off in his ski-equipped airplane. Upon accelerating through 65 mph, just as the airplane was beginning to climb, the pilot heard a noise coming from the side of the airplane. He saw that the tip of a ski was dislodged from its normal position, and was upside down. After evaluating the situation, the pilot decided to land on the same ski runway. As the airplane decelerated following touchdown, the pilot lost directional control, and the airplane swerved and nosed over. During the subsequent examination of the airplane, a bungee cable, used to secure and position one of the skis to the landing gear strut, was found too long. The ski assembly shock cords on the skis were found to be in poor condition, aged, and weak.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the landing gear/ski attachment assembly due to inadequate maintenance.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/19/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1720
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Brigham City
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84302
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 413308N
Event Location Longitude 1120344W
Event Location Airport Brigham City
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4229
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 --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
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 --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
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) 23159
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 19 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2008 11:52AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City, UT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N71730
NTSB Number LAX08CA051
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 Luscombe
Aircraft Model 8E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3157
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
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 Stephen W. Sawyer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Stephen W. Sawyer
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Brigham City
Operator State UT
Operator Country USA
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BMC
Departure City Brigham City
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BMC
Destination City Brigham City
Destination State UT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 25 2008 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34R
Runway Length 7501
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --