Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Orland Haigh Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Orland, California 95963
Thursday, August 27, 2009 10:11 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight instructor was conducting a biennial flight review with the commercial pilot. A witness reported that she observed the airplane heading in a southeast direction at an altitude of about 350 feet. The witness stated, "The plane began to execute a right hand turn, and then rolled over so the top of the plane was facing east and the nose was pointing down. I then saw the nose barely try to pull up, and I waited for it to come up, but it never did." A second witness, who was a first responder and was walking in close proximity to the accident site reported hearing the ground impact behind him, but was unaware that it was an airplane that had crashed, as he did not hear any engine noise prior to the impact. The witness reported smelling fuel and observing a pool of fuel forming under the wings after reaching the wreckage. Another first responder reported that he smelled a "strong odor" of aviation fuel as he approached the wreckage. GPS data revealed that the airplane had performed a 4-turn spiral over the airport prior to the descent to ground impact. Examination of the wreckage disclosed impact signatures and ground scars consistent with a stall/spin. A post accident examination of the engine and airframe revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/27/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1011 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Orland |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 95963 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 394313N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1220847W |
| Event Location Airport | Orland Haigh Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | O37 |
| 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 | 215 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 953 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 125 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OVE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 240 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 28 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| 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) | 40 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26943 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Regional Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 10 2010 7:25PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N43521 |
| NTSB Number | WPR09LA419 |
| 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 | James B. Taplin |
| Aircraft Model | RV-6 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 162 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 17 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 442 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Harlan K. Klemm |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Chico |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95973 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Harlan K. Klemm |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Chico |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 95973 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CIC |
| Departure City | Chico |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 940 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | O37 |
| Destination City | Orland |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 10 2010 7:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 4500 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |