Llano Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Llano, Texas 78643
Saturday, August 25, 2012 10:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor and student pilot departed for an instructional flight to perform traffic pattern work. A witness saw the airplane on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern and thought the airplane was operating at a very high angle-of-attack. He observed the airplane again a few minutes later, in the same location and operating in the same manner. A helicopter pilot reported that he saw a “flash” of an airplane wing, and then the accident airplane quickly departed controlled flight and descended to the ground. The airplane wreckage was located about 1 mile southeast of the airport. The examination of the engine and airframe did not reveal any additional abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the student pilot’s logbook revealed that he had a total of 14.7 flight hours, including 12.5 hours in the accident airplane. His logbook’s last five entries were annotated as patterns and touch-and-go takeoffs; there was no record of any stall or spin avoidance training noted in his logbook. The airplane’s stall warning switch, located in the wing, did not indicate any electrical continuity when activated; a small amount of corrosion was observed under the terminal ends of the wires and the wire contact area. The wiring and screws were reassembled and the test was repeated; when activated, electrical continuity was noticed on the meter. The student pilot (who was the airplane owner) had told family members that the stall warning switch was not working properly, so the flight instructor would disable it for each flight. However, even with the stall switch disabled, the instructor should have noticed that the airplane was operating at low speed and high angle of attack yet he did not take corrective action. Based on the circumstances surrounding the accident, it is likely that the student pilot stalled the airplane while performing a high angle-of-attack turn to the downwind leg in the traffic pattern. The airplane’s low altitude would not have provided the pilots with sufficient time or altitude to recover. Additionally, toxicological testing on the flight instructor detected an antihistamine that is commonly used as a sleep aid in the liver and blood at a potentially impairing level; the antihistamine has potential side effects including cognitive and psychomotor impairment. It is likely that the flight instructor’s use of the sedating medication contributed to his failure to take remedial action when the student flew the airplane at such a high angle of attack at a low altitude.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision during practice traffic pattern work. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s use of sedating medication on the day of the accident and airplane’s high angle of attack at a low altitude during the traffic pattern turn, which prevented recovery during an aerodynamic stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/25/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Llano
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78643
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Llano Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AQO
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 1055 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KAQO
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) 38
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 16
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
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) 31782
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 Jul 25 2013 4:14PM
User who most recently changed record hatc
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5796L
NTSB Number CEN12FA570
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AMERICAN
Aircraft Model AA-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AA1-0196
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Jun 26 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1683
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Luker, Bobby
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Burnet
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78605
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Luker, Bobby
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Burnet
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 78605
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 AQO
Departure City LLano
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code AQO
Destination City LLano
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 4 2013 1:30PM
User who most recently changed record reej
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --