Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Wings Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Williston, Florida 32668
Saturday, November 5, 2011 16:44 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses observed the airplane take off on a turf runway surrounded by trees. The airplane appeared to perform an exaggerated soft-field takeoff and became airborne within a couple of hundred feet. It then ballooned up and started to settle but then leveled off just above the runway and accelerated. When the airplane passed abeam friends of the flight instructor who were near the runway, they reported observing a few puffs of smoke emanating from the airplane's smoke system and the airplane's wings wagging up and down. When the airplane reached the end of the runway, witnesses saw it pitch up abruptly to a steep nose-up attitude and climb to about 200 feet above ground level. It then yawed and rolled left while pitching nose down. Witnesses observed the nose of the airplane oscillate up and down before the airplane descended rapidly and impacted a tree and terrain.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact malfunctions of the airplane or engine. However, examination of the tungsten filaments from the light bulbs in the stall warning indicator lights revealed that they were stretched and distorted, indicating they were likely illuminated during impact.
The flight instructor was described as knowing airplane energy management very well; however, on the day of the accident, he may have been surprised after he cleared the top of the trees surrounding the airport, where he went from a little, or no wind condition, to a condition where the airplane would have suddenly been subjected to a 30 degree crosswind and wind gusting from 10 to 16 knots. This would have affected the airplane's flight path and resulted in a loss of energy, possibly resulting in the loss of control and stall.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed in changing wind conditions during a steep climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s ostentatious display close to the ground.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/5/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1644 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Williston |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32668 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 291437N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0823246W |
| Event Location Airport | Wings Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 96FL |
| 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 | 100 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1650 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 90 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OCF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 90 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| 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) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 16 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| 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) | 31326 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SROCC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 14 2013 5:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N34KT |
| NTSB Number | ERA12FA062 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | D-45 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | BG-271 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2985 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 1 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 10535 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Ralph Ken Terry |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | DAYTONA BEACH |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 32128-6840 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Ralph Ken Terry |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | DAYTONA BEACH |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 32128-6840 |
| 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 | 96FL |
| Departure City | Williston |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1642 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 7FL6 |
| Destination City | Daytona Beach |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 14 2013 5:10PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 3300 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |