St. Johns Industrial Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Johns, Arizona 85936
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 15:50 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight made a fuel stop on a cross-country flight. The pilot reported a left quartering headwind during the takeoff. He applied the proper crosswind control inputs and immediately after liftoff aligned the airplane into the wind to maintain a ground track over the runway centerline. The pilot said a wind gust from the left affected the airplane, resulting in the left wing rising and the airplane banking to the right. Subsequently, the right wing, the empennage, and the right main landing gear touched down and the airplane exited the runway to the right. The airplane continued down an embankment, impacting a chain link airport perimeter fence. The airplane came to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed structural damage to left and right wings, the left landing gear assembly, fuselage, and empennage. The on-field weather station recorded the wind at the time of departure as 50 degrees left of the runway heading at 15 knots, gusting to 22 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s inadequate compensation for the crosswind gust and failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the gusty crosswind weather conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/5/2009
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1550
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City St. Johns
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85936
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 343107N
Event Location Longitude 1092244W
Event Location Airport St. Johns Industrial Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SJN
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 5737
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KSJN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5737
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
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) 25961
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 31 2009 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4577V
NTSB Number WPR09CA387
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 BEECH
Aircraft Model 35
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number D-952
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 3 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 44
Airframe Hours 5649
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name MCCOLLUM JAMES HAROLD
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City POWAY
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92064
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name MCCOLLUM JAMES HAROLD
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City POWAY
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 92064
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 KSJN
Departure City St. Johns
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1548
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KSEE
Destination City El Cajon
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 31 2009 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 5322
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --