Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Watertown Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Watertown, South Dakota 57201
Saturday, May 29, 2010 13:31 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness reported that he initially thought the pilot was inbound for landing. However, the airplane proceeded southwest of the airport and began making erratic banks and turns. He estimated that the airplane’s bank angles reached 80 to 90 degrees at times. Just prior to the accident, the pilot appeared to make a steep turn akin to an agriculture-type operation. He noted that the airplane pitched up, turned to the right, and preceded straight down, impacting the ground. Another witness reported that the airplane was making erratic maneuvers about 300 to 500 feet above ground level. The airplane impacted an open field about 0.5 mile southwest of the airport. A postaccident examination of the engine and airframe did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. The toxicology testing report stated that the pilot's blood alcohol level was 144 mg/dL (0.144 percent by weight). A review of the pilot's background revealed two prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol. These were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the pilot's medical certificate application. The FAA subsequently required the pilot to provide court and driving records, in addition to an evaluation by a certified substance abuse specialist in support of his application. The pilot further submitted drug screen results that indicated a negative finding. The FAA subsequently affirmed the pilot's eligibility for a third-class medical certificate and cautioned the pilot that further alcohol related offenses may result in denial of medical certification. Regulations prohibit any person from piloting an aircraft while having a blood alcohol level greater than 0.04 by weight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of airplane control while conducting aerobatic, low-altitude maneuvers. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairmant due to alcohol.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/29/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1331 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Watertown |
| Event State | SOUTH DAKOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 57201 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 445450N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0970917W |
| Event Location Airport | Watertown Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ATY |
| 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 | 1749 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1353 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ATY |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1749 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 13 |
| 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) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 20 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 28 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| 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) | 27885 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-AGL ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 27 2012 11:54AM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N88399 |
| NTSB Number | CEN10LA275 |
| 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 | BELLANCA |
| Aircraft Model | 7GCBC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 777-75 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1650 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 1 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4270 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Chad A Lamb |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WATERTOWN |
| Aircraft Owner State | SD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 57201 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Chad A Lamb |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WATERTOWN |
| Operator State | SD |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 57201 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Castlewood |
| Departure State | SD |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | PVT |
| Destination City | Castlewood |
| Destination State | SD |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 30 2011 2:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |