Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Williston, North Dakota 58801
Monday, July 9, 2012 15:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he was performing a landing in a wheat field. When the pilot began to flare the airplane, the main landing gear became entangled with the tall wheat grass, which resulted in the airplane lurching forward and to the right. The right wing impacted the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. Nine days before the accident, the pilot had marked a 1,000-foot-long landing strip in the field. He stated that the wheat grass had grown considerably since then.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to ensure a suitable landing surface.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/9/2012
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Williston
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58801
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 480221N
Event Location Longitude 1022023W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1552 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID ISN
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 50
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) 34
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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) 30262
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 24 2012 8:26PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8709V
NTSB Number CEN12CA430
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 BELLANCA
Aircraft Model 7KCAB
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 518-75
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43
Airframe Hours 1976
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name KEMPNER JAMES C
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2228 DEL MONTE DR
Aircraft Owner City HOUSTON
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77019-3519
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name KEMPNER JAMES C
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2228 DEL MONTE DR
Operator City HOUSTON
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77019-3519
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ISN
Departure City Williston
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1445
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Williston
Destination State ND
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2012 2:41PM
User who most recently changed record bakd
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --