Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Truth Or Consequences Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Elephant Butte, New Mexico 87935
Sunday, May 1, 2011 12:15 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was on a local flight from a nearby airport. Two witnesses, who were driving north on an interstate highway, said the airplane was flying south about 1,000 feet above the ground when it pitched upward, rolled to the right, and then spiraled toward the ground. The witnesses said that they did not see any fire or smoke before they lost sight of the airplane. However, they subsequently saw a plume of smoke rising from behind a hill. A postaccident examination of the airplane wreckage showed that the airplane impacted the terrain in a right bank, slightly nose low attitude, then spun around to the left. A postimpact fire consumed most of the airplane structure. An examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. A rod end for a push-pull tube between the flap handle and the flaperon mixer unit was found failed in overload at the outer two threads. Although this finding indicates potential problems with the construction and/or maintenance of the airplane, there is no indication that it contributed to the accident. Forensic toxicology testing of the pilot’s liver and kidney detected Diphenhyramine; however, the level of Diphenhydramine was not substantive enough to be determined and its presence most likely did not induce impairment.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of control of the airplane for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/1/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1215 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Elephant Butte |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 87935 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 331402N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1071438W |
| Event Location Airport | Truth or Consequences Muni |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TCS |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 4853 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 270 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TCS |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4853 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| 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) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.92 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KTCS 011753Z AUTO 25004KT 10SM CLR 14/M12 A2 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30764 |
| 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 | Nov 1 2012 11:03AM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N89MM |
| NTSB Number | CEN11FA312 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | COMBS EARL W |
| Aircraft Model | KITFOX SPEEDSTER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | HBS055 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1200 |
| 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 | Apr 20 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 502.1 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WOODSUM RICHARD P |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 92 |
| Aircraft Owner City | ELEPHANT BTTE |
| Aircraft Owner State | NM |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 87935-0092 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | WOODSUM RICHARD P |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 92 |
| Operator City | ELEPHANT BTTE |
| Operator State | NM |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 87935-0092 |
| 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 | TCS |
| Departure City | Truth or Conseq |
| 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 | TCS |
| Destination City | Truth or Conseq |
| Destination State | NM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 2 2012 12:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| 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 | -- |