Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744
Saturday, March 23, 2013 11:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor hand-propped the engine and the student pilot set the engine controls before the flight. The flight consisted mainly of practicing ground reference maneuvers and slips. The flight instructor reported that they were about 700 feet above the ground when the engine lost all power and the propeller stopped spinning. The flight instructor performed the emergency checklist by memory and located a frozen lake on which to land. The airplane nosed over during the landing roll, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing spars. Photos taken at the accident site showed that the fuel primer control was unlocked and the primer control was at an intermediate position. The flight instructor reported that the student stated he locked the primer control, but only turned the control about 1/8 inch to lock it. The flight instructor stated that the primer control was in its locked position when he checked it before the flight. It could not be determined how the primer control became unlocked. The engine was started and ran normally during the postaccident examination. When the primer control was placed in the position found after the accident and the power was reduced to 1,000 rpm, the engine lost all power. The airplane was not equipped with an electrical system and therefore could not be restarted in flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot’s failure to adequately lock the primer before takeoff and the flight instructor's failure to verify that the primer was adequately locked.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/23/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Grand Rapids
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55744
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 470612N
Event Location Longitude 0932711W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
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 1135 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 160
Weather Observation Facility ID KGPZ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1355
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
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) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report 201303231735 METAR KGPZ 231735Z AUTO 35003KT 10SM
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31303
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 29 2013 12:55PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N21301
NTSB Number CEN13CA224
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 None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AERONCA
Aircraft Model 65C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number C1058
Certified Max Gross Weight 1250
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 12 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1620
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David P. Floura
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Blackduck
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 56630
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name David P. Floura
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Blackduck
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 56630
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KGPZ
Departure City Grand Rapids
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KGPZ
Destination City Grand Rapids
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 9 2013 3:04PM
User who most recently changed record sulp
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --