Clinton Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clinton, Iowa 52732
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 19:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of a Great Lakes biplane was landing when the airplane struck the rear of a Varga airplane that had previously landed and was still on the runway. According to the pilot of the Great Lakes, he did not see the other airplane until the impact occurred. The Varga had completed a straight-in approach following a practice instrument approach. The Great Lakes landed using a left hand traffic pattern approach to landing. FAA regulations state that when two airplanes are approaching to land at the same airport, the airplane at the lower altitude has the right of way. The airport was a non-towered airport, and both pilots reported that they had announced their positions in the airport traffic pattern. Regulations did not prohibit the use of a straight-in approach.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot of the other airplane failing to adequately monitor for other aircraft while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/12/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1915
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Clinton
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 52732
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 414951N
Event Location Longitude 0901944W
Event Location Airport Clinton Municipal Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CWI
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 708
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1855 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CWI
Elevation of weather observation facility 708
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
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) 30.03
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30614
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 Nov 29 2012 3:03PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Registration Number N4651V N3793F
NTSB Number CEN12LA629A CEN12LA629B
Missing Aircraft Indicator -- --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None None
Flight plan Was Activated? No No
Damage Substantial Minor
Aircraft Fire None None
Aircraft Explosion None None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name VARGA AIRCRAFT CORP. GREAT LAKES
Aircraft Model 2150A 2T-1A-2
Aircraft Series Identifier -- --
Aircraft Serial Number VAC-101-78 0767
Certified Max Gross Weight -- --
Aircraft Category Airplane Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class -- --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No No
Flight Crew Seats -- --
Cabin Crew Seats -- --
Passenger Seats -- --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2 2
Number of Engines 1 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 22 2012 12:00AM Sep 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection -- --
Airframe Hours 1799 1591
ELT Installed Yes Yes
ELT Activated No No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No No
ELT Type -- --
Aircraft Owner Name James D. White Donald W. Grundstrom
Aircraft Owner Street Address -- --
Aircraft Owner City Bettendorf Eldridge
Aircraft Owner State IA IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 52722 52748
Operator is an individual? Yes Yes
Operator Name James D. White Dean C. Maupin
Operator Same as Owner? Yes No
Operator Is Doing Business As -- --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes No
Operator Street Address -- --
Operator City Bettendorf Davenport
Operator State IA IA
Operator Country USA USA
Operator Zip code 52722 52807
Operator Code -- --
Owner has at least one certificate None None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No 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 Personal
Second Pilot on Board No No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes No
Departure Airport Code CWI DVN
Departure City Clinton Davenport
Departure State IA IA
Departure Country USA USA
Departure Time 1810 1830
Departure Time Zone CDT CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CWI CWI
Destination City Clinton Clinton
Destination State IA IA
Destination Country USA USA
Specific Phase of Flight -- --
Report sent to ICAO? -- --
Evacuation occurred -- --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 29 2012 3:03PM Sep 19 2012 6:43PM
User who most recently changed record johb brajo
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21 21
Runway Length 5204 5204
Runway Width 100 100
Sight Seeing flight No No
Air Medical Flight No No
Medical Flight -- --