Sabetha Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sabetha, Kansas 66534
Sunday, August 14, 2011 8:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to witnesses, the airplane stalled four times while on final approach; the airplane would pull up, and then the nose would drop. The airplane finally nosed over from an altitude of 35 to 40 feet and impacted terrain. The pilot did not hold a valid pilot certificate and had been denied medical certification for, among other things, bilateral cataracts. The pilot reported no flight time in the preceding 90 days, and additionally reported that the airplane had no mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of certification to act as a pilot and his lack of recent experience.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2011
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Sabetha
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 66534
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395415N
Event Location Longitude 0954646W
Event Location Airport Sabetha Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K83
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 1330
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID STJ
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
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) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KSTJ 141453Z 35005KT 10SM CLR 23/17 A3011 KSTJ 14
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29305
NTSB Notification Source FAA ACE 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 23 2011 2:44PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6953S
NTSB Number CEN11LA575
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 150H
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15067653
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4500
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Alvin R. Wenger
Aircraft Owner Street Address 246 145th Street
Aircraft Owner City Powhattan
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66527-9623
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Alvin R. Wenger
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Powhattan
Operator State KS
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 66527-9623
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code K83
Departure City Sabetha
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code K83
Destination City Sabetha
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 11 2011 4:13PM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length 3100
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --