Dayton International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dayton, Ohio 45377
Saturday, June 22, 2013 12:47 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A video study using five videos taken of the accident sequence by airshow spectators revealed that, during the wing-walking performance, the airplane began a shallow climb to reposition for the next performance maneuver. After the airplane was aligned along the show line, the airplane began a left roll to the inverted position and continued rolling until it was nearly inverted, but it stopped at an orientation of 156 degrees of rotation (24 degrees short of fully inverted flight). During the last seconds of the flight, the airplane's flightpath shifted from the east to the east-northeast, which directed it outside of the performance area and toward a Boeing 757 parked near aircraft hangars about 0.3 mile east-southeast of the accident site. About 1.3 seconds before the accident, the airplane began rolling right and then abruptly pitched toward the ground just before impact. During the final 2 seconds, the airplane's groundspeed reduced from about 106 to 84 knots. An examination of the airplane's wreckage did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. An airshow crewmember reported hearing the wing walker telling the pilot before the airshow performance that he had previously flown too fast when she was walking along the wing to position herself. It is unknown if they further discussed the exact needs of the wing walker during the performance. However, it is likely that the pilot flew a more gradual maneuver to reduce the forces against the wing walker while she repositioned herself on the wing, which resulted in the entry into the maneuver not being set up as expected and created a tighter turn radius. On the videos, the airplane appeared to be flying slower than normal and did not pitch to the target nose-high parameter before beginning the left roll. The airplane developed a negative, or descending, vector as the airplane rolled toward the inverted position. The roll to the inverted position was stopped short of expected; because of the bank, the airplane was heading toward the crowd line. The airplane flew for a few seconds while partially inverted and well below the maneuver’s 110-mph target airspeed. The airplane then began a right roll, although the planned maneuver typically used a left roll. It could not be determined if the pilot chose to discontinue the maneuver and exit with a reversed right turn to avoid a perceived collision hazard with the parked Boeing 757, to remain within the performance area, to not overfly the crowd, or a combination of these factors.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's modified airshow maneuver, which placed the airplane at low altitude and airspeed and out of position within the performance area.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/22/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1247
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Dayton
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45377
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395426N
Event Location Longitude 0841302W
Event Location Airport Dayton International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KDAY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1009
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1256 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID KDAY
Elevation of weather observation facility 1009
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KDAY 221656Z 22010KT 9SM BKN035 BKN050 BKN09
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 33219
NTSB Notification Source CIN FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 2 2014 12:20PM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N450JW
NTSB Number CEN13FA274
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BOEING-STEARMAN
Aircraft Model IB75A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-789
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 23 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 8140
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name WICKER JANE F
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City BRISTOW
Aircraft Owner State VA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 20136-2662
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jane Wicker Airshow
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City BRISTOW
Operator State VA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 20136
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) Air Race/Show
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KDAY
Departure City Dayton
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1235
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code KDAY
Destination City Dayton
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 2 2014 9:20AM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --