Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clutier, Iowa 52217
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 10:57 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was on approach to an unimproved airstrip when it struck power lines and then impacted terrain. The pilot had previously flown into this airstrip but had not done so recently. When the field was previously used as an airstrip, the power lines were buried; however, the power lines had recently been moved above ground. The pilot may not have been aware that the power lines had been moved above ground, and the lines were not marked. The surviving passenger stated that he never saw the power lines before the airplane struck them. The pilot's medical records revealed diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and bipolar disease. Toxicology testing showed the presence of medications consistent with the treatment of these conditions. Although the pilot’s medical records and toxicology results indicated that the pilot had recently stopped taking some medications that could have adversely affected his performance, his bipolar disease would have had significant negative effects on cognition, including memory and executive functioning/judgment, and would have been disqualifying for a medical certification. Therefore, although it is possible that the pilot's underlying psychiatric disease and its treatment may have affected his judgment, it is not possible to determine the extent to which it may have contributed to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to monitor, recognize, and identify obstacles on approach to landing, which resulted in an inadvertent collision with power lines. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s expectation and assumption that there were no above-ground power lines in the area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/28/2012
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1057
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Clutier
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 52217
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 420510N
Event Location Longitude 0922632W
Event Location Airport PRIVATE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
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 1053 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KMIW
Elevation of weather observation facility 975
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
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) 1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.39
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KMIIW 281653Z AUTO 22003KT 10SM CLR 01/M04 A3039 R
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 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31762
NTSB Notification Source FAA ACE ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 22 2013 2:14PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N94973
NTSB Number CEN13FA078
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Taylorcraft
Aircraft Model BC12-D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 9373
Certified Max Gross Weight 1200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William A. Konicek
Aircraft Owner Street Address 711 6th St.
Aircraft Owner City Traer
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 50675-1307
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name William A. Konicek
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address On File
Operator City Traer
Operator State IA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 50675-1307
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 No
Departure Airport Code K8C6
Departure City Traer
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 5 2013 1:51PM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 1760
Runway Width 105
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --