Sunburst Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sunburst, Montana 59482
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 14:30 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot taxied the airplane onto the runway most aligned with the wind and began the takeoff roll. Just as the airplane became airborne, a gust of wind lifted the right wing, and the left wing tip contacted the ground despite the pilot's application of full right aileron. The airplane came to rest, nose-down, facing opposite the direction of intended travel and sustained substantial damage to both wings and the left lift strut. The pilot estimated that the wind was 38 knots and gusting to 42 knots at the time of takeoff. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to compensate for the strong, gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a loss of airplane control during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/6/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Sunburst
Event State MONTANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 59482
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 485312N
Event Location Longitude 1115518W
Event Location Airport Sunburst Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K8U5
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 1456 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID KCTB
Elevation of weather observation facility 3857
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) -6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 25
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 34
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
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) 31199
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2013 1:05PM
User who most recently changed record reej
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2619D
NTSB Number WPR13CA117
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 170B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20771
Certified Max Gross Weight 1796
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 3
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 9 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3070
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name INMAN STEVE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City BILLINGS
Aircraft Owner State MT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 59105-4648
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name INMAN STEVE
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City BILLINGS
Operator State MT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 59105-4648
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 K8U5
Departure City Sunburst
Departure State MT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KBIL
Destination City Billings
Destination State MT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 3 2013 3:23PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --