Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Private Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Okaton, South Dakota 57562
Tuesady, December 11, 2012 9:00 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that 2 days before the accident, snow accumulated on the airplane’s wings while it was parked in an open front hangar. The day before the accident, the temperature was warmer, and the pilot believed that the snow melted and ran rearward to the aileron gap/hinge locations, re-freezing during the nighttime hours. On the day of the accident, the pilot was in a hurry to use the airplane to check his pastures and brushed the snow off of the wings but did not perform a thorough preflight check of the airplane, including checking freedom of movement of the ailerons. After takeoff, the airplane began turning to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the turn, but the airplane did not respond. When he looked out at the wings, he could see that the ailerons were not responding to control inputs as they should. As he was attempting to regain control, the airplane descended into trees, resulting in substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and tail surfaces. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical defects that were determined to have existed before the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection of the airplane and obstruction of the aileron control system by snow and ice, which led to a loss of control during flight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/11/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 900 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Okaton |
| Event State | SOUTH DAKOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 57562 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 435310N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1005331W |
| Event Location Airport | Private airstrip |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PVT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 855 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 288 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PHP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2209 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 37 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 9500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -7 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.85 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31043 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 10 2013 1:16PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coln |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3471Z |
| NTSB Number | CEN13CA108 |
| 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 | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-7291 |
| 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 | -- |
| 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 | WYLY BILLY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 24684 WYLY RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | OKATON |
| Aircraft Owner State | SD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 57562-5011 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | WYLY BILLY |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 24684 WYLY RD |
| Operator City | OKATON |
| Operator State | SD |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 57562-5011 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Okaton |
| Departure State | SD |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | PVT |
| Destination City | Okaton |
| Destination State | SD |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 10 2013 1:16PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coln |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 09 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |