Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wood Lake, Nebraska 69201
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 15:00 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot and passenger departed on the flight to conduct an aerial view of the surrounding area. According to the passenger, shortly after taking off of the grass field runway, and approximately 50 feet in the air, the airplane turned sharply to the right and dove to the ground. The airplane impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. There were no reported ground witnesses to the accident and the pilot has no memory of the crash. The passenger, who had only flown in a small airplane once before, reported that the lift-off appeared "smooth" and that he didn't hear any changes in the engine sound or an "[engine] cough." An examination of the airplane failed to identify any preimpact abnormalities with the engine or airframe.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/4/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Wood Lake |
| Event State | NEBRASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 69201 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| 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 | 1450 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KANW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.65 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25650 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 25 2009 5:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3352B |
| NTSB Number | CEN09LA190 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-3305 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | -- |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 19 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4416 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | VANWINKLE JAMES L |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 787 |
| Aircraft Owner City | WOOD LAKE |
| Aircraft Owner State | NE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 69221-0787 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | VANWINKLE JAMES L |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 787 |
| Operator City | WOOD LAKE |
| Operator State | NE |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 69221-0787 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Wood Lake |
| Departure State | NE |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Wood Lake |
| Destination State | NE |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 20 2009 2:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | hatc |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | 800 |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |