Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Dixie Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dixie Valley, Nevada 89310
Saturday, February 25, 2012 5:25 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Earlier in the morning, the pilot arrived at the airport with two revenue passengers and encountered moderate turbulence during the landing approach, such that he canceled the first landing attempt and maneuvered the airplane for landing on the opposite runway. The subsequent landing was uneventful. Before departing on the accident flight with two other revenue passengers, the pilot checked the windsock and elected to depart on a runway away from rising terrain with a gusting 90-degree right crosswind. Just after rotation, the wind shifted to a tailwind, and the pilot felt the airplane sink. The pilot was confident that, once he descended low enough to be influenced by ground-effect conditions, he would be able to regain enough airspeed to continue the climb. Shortly thereafter, the propeller blades struck the ground, and the airplane slid to a halt in the dirt about 2,400 feet beyond the runway. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Gusting wind conditions, including moderate turbulence and low-level windshear referenced in an AIRMET (airmen's meteorological information) advisory, existed at the time of both the inbound and outbound flights. The pilot was aware of these conditions, having received both an in-flight briefing and an online briefing prior to the inbound flight. The pilot had flown this route routinely for many years and deemed the conditions typical for the area.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The airplane’s encounter with forecast low-level windshear conditions during takeoff, which resulted in a loss of lift.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/25/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 525 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Dixie Valley |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89310 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 395711N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1174937W |
| Event Location Airport | Dixie Valley |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NV30 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 3443 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 456 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 225 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KNFL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 3934 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 60 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| 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) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 25 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KNFL 251256Z AUTO 29015G25KT 10SM CLR 08/M17 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29764 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA WP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 6 2012 5:19PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N272D |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA116 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | S35 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D-7463 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3550 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 31 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 26 |
| Airframe Hours | 7271 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Danny Lee Urquhart |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | FALLON |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89406 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Danny Lee Urquhart |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | FALLON |
| Operator State | NV |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 89406 |
| Operator Code | UQ8A |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | UQ8A637L |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | NV30 |
| Departure City | Dixie Valley |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 524 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KFLX |
| Destination City | Fallon |
| Destination State | NV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 4 2012 2:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sime1 |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 16 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |