Poplar Grove Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Poplar Grove, Illinois 91065
Sunday, November 18, 2012 12:10 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings on runway 12. During the landing roll after the third landing, the airplane started to drift to the right and the pilot corrected with rudder. The airplane departed the runway to the right and struck a ditch. During the impact, the left wing struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing spar. No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/18/2012
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1210
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Poplar Grove
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 91065
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 441922N
Event Location Longitude 0885010W
Event Location Airport Poplar Grove Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C77
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 858
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1154 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID KRFD
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 25000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.38
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KRFD 181754Z 18010KT 10SM BKN250 12/02 A3038
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) 30981
NTSB Notification Source FAA DuPage FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2012 9:06AM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4811G
NTSB Number CEN13CA074
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 CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17273359
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 2 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6673
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name POPLAR GROVE AIRMOTIVE INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 11619 IL ROUTE 76
Aircraft Owner City POPLAR GROVE
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61065-8827
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Joerg Niederhuefner
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Poplar Grove
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code C77
Departure City Poplar Grove
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1205
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code C77
Destination City Poplar Grove
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2012 4:28PM
User who most recently changed record kaij
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 12
Runway Length 3773
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --