Grant County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Silver City, New Mexico 88061
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:55 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot started the takeoff roll and the airplane ground-looped prior to liftoff. The certificated flight instructor unsuccessfully attempted to regain control; however, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The right wing main spar and several ribs were bent as a result of the accident sequence.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's loss of directional control during takeoff and the certificated flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in a ground loop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/11/2010
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1155
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Silver City
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 88061
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 323811N
Event Location Longitude 1080923W
Event Location Airport Grant County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SVC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5446
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1145 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SVC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5446
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSVC 111725Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 31/07 A30
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27939
NTSB Notification Source FAA ANM ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 26 2010 2:29PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4546E
NTSB Number CEN10LA475
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 AERONCA
Aircraft Model 11CC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 11CC-249
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
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 Aug 6 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1584
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Tris D. Germain
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cliff
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 88028
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Tris D. Germain
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Cliff
Operator State NM
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 88028
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code SVC
Departure City Silver City
Departure State NM
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SVC
Destination City Silver City
Destination State NM
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 4 2010 3:19PM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 6802
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --