Barnes County Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Valley City, North Dakota 58072
Friday, September 7, 2012 17:55 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses reported that the pilot completed the initial portion of his airshow practice routine without any apparent difficulties. One witness noted that during those maneuvers, the airplane reached altitudes of about 2,000 feet above ground level (agl). The pilot then executed a four-point roll. The witnesses stated that the airplane pitched up and rolled to the left, as if the pilot were entering a barrel roll. However, the airplane only reached an altitude of about 1,000 feet agl during this maneuver. When the airplane was inverted, the roll stopped, and the airplane pitched down toward the ground. One witness noted that vapor trails were visible from the wing tips during the attempted pull out. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground in a nearly level attitude. The airplane was severely fragmented during the accident sequence and the debris field was extensive. No anomalies consistent with preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction were observed during postaccident examination, but the extent of the impact-related damage to the airframe precluded a complete examination of the flight control system. However, witness statements were consistent with the pilot initiating the final aerobatic maneuver from an altitude that did not allow full recovery of the airplane. Toxicological tests identified ethanol in the pilot’s tissue samples; however, it is likely that the ethanol detected was due to postmortem production.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s decision to initiate the aerobatic maneuver at an altitude that did not allow for full recovery of the airplane before ground impact.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/7/2012
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1755
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Valley City
Event State NORTH DAKOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 58072
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 465628N
Event Location Longitude 0980105W
Event Location Airport Barnes County Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BAC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1402
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1756 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 264
Weather Observation Facility ID JMS
Elevation of weather observation facility 1494
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31052
NTSB Notification Source FAA-AGL ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 27 2013 12:53PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5577N
NTSB Number CEN12LA615
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 GOODYEAR
Aircraft Model F2G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 88463
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 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Jul 12 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 107.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Thomas T Ungurean
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Coshocton
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43812
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Robert J Odegaard
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Kindred
Operator State ND
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 58051
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) Air Race/Show
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BAC
Departure City Valley City
Departure State ND
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1740
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BAC
Destination City Valley City
Destination State ND
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2013 4:37PM
User who most recently changed record sort
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 --