Chambers County-Winnie Stowell Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Winnie, Texas 77665
Sunday, April 14, 2013 9:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

When the light-sport airplane was about 300 to 400 feet above ground level, the pilot leveled it off and reduced engine power. He stated that he “fixated” on the instrument panel instead of concentrating on flying and didn’t notice that the airplane had banked left. The pilot stated that he wanted to perform practice takeoffs and landings, so he wanted to do a quick turn and applied left aileron pedal. The airplane subsequently pitched down and started to spin, likely because the airplane banked too far left and stalled. The pilot pulled back on the control stick and applied full right aileron. Shortly thereafter, as the airplane started to recover from the spin, the wing contacted the ground. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunctions or failures occurred during the accident flight. He did not have a pilot’s license.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during takeoff due to his fixation on the instrument panel.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/14/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Winnie
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77665
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 294908N
Event Location Longitude 0942552W
Event Location Airport Chambers County-Winnie Stowell
Event Location Nearest Airport ID T90
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 25
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 935 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 37
Weather Observation Facility ID BMT
Elevation of weather observation facility 32
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
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) 29.79
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KBMT 141435Z AUTO 06003KT 10SM OVC011 20/17 A2979
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32391
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ASW-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 29 2014 2:05PM
User who most recently changed record male
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N171DP
NTSB Number CEN13LA227
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 QUAD CITY ULTRALIGHT ACFT CORP
Aircraft Model CHALLENGER I
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0994-0505
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pilot
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77040
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Pilot
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Houston
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 77040
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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 T90
Departure City Winnie
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code T90
Destination City Winnie
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 29 2014 1:58PM
User who most recently changed record male
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 --