Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Circle Town Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Circle, Montana 59215
Friday, June 24, 2011 8:05 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that he loaded the hopper of the airplane with chemicals for an agricultural flight and proceeded to take off. During the initial climb, at approximately 50 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot noticed a tailwind from the southwest and at 60 feet agl noticed that his climb rate had diminished. He performed a forced landing in the wash across a main road, and on touchdown the main landing gear separated and the airplane proceeded inside a gully where the wings sustained substantial damage. At the time of the accident, the density altitude was approximately 3,600 feet. The pilot reported no mechanical issues or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation and he felt that he was unable to attain an adequate flying speed due to the high humidity.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed during initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/24/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 805 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Circle |
| Event State | MONTANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 59215 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 472520N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1053401W |
| Event Location Airport | Circle Town Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4U6 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2422 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 753 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KOLF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1900 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 41 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 900 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KJDN 241448Z AUTO 33012G19KT 18/09 A2981 KGDV 241 |
| 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) | 28758 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 27 2011 12:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2362D |
| NTSB Number | WPR11CA286 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AIR TRACTOR |
| Aircraft Model | AT301 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | NO SERIES |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 301-0404 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7798 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 13 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 145 |
| Airframe Hours | 7379 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Harris Spraying Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Circle |
| Aircraft Owner State | MT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 59215 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Harris Spraying Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Circle |
| Operator State | MT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 59215 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| 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) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 4U6 |
| Departure City | Circle Airport |
| Departure State | MT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 803 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 4U6 |
| Destination City | Circle Airport |
| Destination State | MT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2011 9:37AM |
| User who most recently changed record | ellv |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 30 |
| Runway Length | 4100 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |