Moose Creek Usfs Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kooskia, Idaho 83539
Thursday, June 28, 2012 15:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The passenger reported that the pilot wanted "to beat" an approaching storm and that immediately after taking off and during the initial climb, the airplane rolled violently to the right; it then rolled back to the left, and the nose dropped before impact with terrain. A witness reported observing two men rushing to pack up their airplane while the weather at the airfield was deteriorating due to an incoming thunderstorm. He reported seeing the airplane make an uphill intersection takeoff with a strong gusting tailwind. The witness added that the airplane appeared unstable during the takeoff. A second witness reported that a thunderstorm was within one mile of the airfield and that the windsock was fully erect and moving around erratically, adding that the wind "was knocking the aircraft all over." The passenger stated that he thought the airplane was about tree top level when it encountered the violent wind condition and that the engine was running normally before the accident. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot's decision to attempt a downwind takeoff in gusting wind conditions, coupled with a thunderstorm in close proximity to the airfield, most likely resulted in his loss of airplane control and subsequent impact with terrain.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to attempt a takeoff with a gusty tailwind, which resulted in his loss of airplane control during the initial climb and an aerodynamic stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/28/2012
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Kooskia
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83539
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 460750N
Event Location Longitude 1145537W
Event Location Airport Moose Creek USFS Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1U1
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2454
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID MSO
Elevation of weather observation facility 3206
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 58
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31879
NTSB Notification Source Regional 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 Sep 11 2013 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N63WY
NTSB Number WPR12FA280
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AVIAT
Aircraft Model A-1C-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3133
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 9 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 72
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Steelhead Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Missoula
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59807
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jahn Ashtiani
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Coeur d'Alene
Operator State ID
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 83814
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 1U1
Departure City Kooskia
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code COE
Destination City Coeur d'Alene
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 11 2013 5:22PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 4100
Runway Width 250
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --