Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Gastons Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lakeview, Arkansas 72642
Friday, June 26, 2009 9:04 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
An employee who helped load the airplane thought it was “overloaded” and that the passengers seemed “tense" and “in a hurry to leave.” The pilot made a flaps-up takeoff. It was calculated that at takeoff, the airplane was 188 pounds over maximum certificated gross weight, and the aft c.g. limit was exceeded by 0.15 inches. It was calculated that the flaps up takeoff ground roll would be approximately 1,970 feet, and the flaps up takeoff distance over a 50-foot barrier would be approximately 3,190 feet. The grass runway was 3,200 feet long. Prior to takeoff, the pilot told a surviving passenger that they were going to need all of the runway for takeoff. The passenger said the airplane lifted off at the end of the runway, dropped down into a shallow valley, touched the ground, and lifted off again. It touched down a second time, hit a barbed wire fence and tree, and “rolled” several times. Witnesses said the airplane lifted off in a nose high attitude, disappeared into a shallow valley, then reappeared in a slight climb. The wings were "wig-wagging" and the airplane was "porpoising." GPS data indicates the airplane lifted off between 74 and 78 mph and climbed no more than 29 feet. A videotape of the takeoff corroborated witness' observations. Post-accident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's poor judgment/decision making in attempting the no-flap takeoff, his failure to comply with weight and balance limitations, and his failure to calculate the airplane's performance under exiting conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/26/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 904 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lakeview |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 72642 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 362105N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0923222W |
| Event Location Airport | Gastons |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3MO |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 479 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 853 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 76 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BPK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 928 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| 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) | 6 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KBPK 261353Z AUTO 00000KT 6SM HZ CLR 27/23 A |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26573 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ASW ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 28 2010 11:52AM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N38171 |
| NTSB Number | CEN09FA393 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-7780392 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 10 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 9011 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | PROPAIRE, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 7516 Suffolk Ave. |
| Aircraft Owner City | St, Louis |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 63119 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PROPAIRE, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 7516 Suffolk Ave. |
| Operator City | St, Louis |
| Operator State | MO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 63119 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 3MO |
| Departure City | Lakeview |
| Departure State | AR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SUS |
| Destination City | St. Louis |
| Destination State | MO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 28 2010 12:13PM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 06 |
| Runway Length | 3200 |
| Runway Width | 55 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |