Montague-Yreka Rohrer Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Montague, California 96064
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:59 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The two pilots departed for a personal flight so that the right-seat pilot could become familiar with the airplane, which was owned by the left-seat pilot. The airplane was equipped with dual flight controls; however, it could not be determined which pilot was manipulating the controls at the time of the accident. Witnesses located adjacent to the accident site reported that they heard the sound of an airplane maneuvering with its engine operating at a high power setting followed by the sound of impact. Postaccident examination of the engine and airframe revealed that the flap handle interconnect was disconnected from the flap torque tubes with no corresponding bolt or nut located within the wreckage. Although the flaps in the disconnected configuration would have prevented the pilot from selecting a flap setting, airflow during flight would have kept the flaps in a retracted position. No evidence of any additional preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation was found. Wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with an inverted flat-spin impact with terrain. Postmortem toxicology tests for the right-seat pilot, who had a valid Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate, was positive for metoprolol (a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist), which he was taking due to a valve replacement and aortic repair. Nothing from the autopsy suggested impairment or incapacitation from a medical condition or medication. Postmortem toxicology tests for the left-seat pilot, who did not have a current FAA medical certificate, were positive for norfluoxetine (an atypical antidepressant), fluoxetine (an antidepressant), olanzapine (commonly used for treatment of schizophrenia), and Warfarin (an anticoagulant medication). It is likely that the underlying psychiatric condition and/or medication being used to treat the conditions could have been impairing to some degree; however, the right-seat pilot should have been able to successfully fly the airplane even if some impairment was present in the left-seat pilot. No evidence suggests that pilot impairment or incapacitation contributed to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident testing and examination, which resulted in a stall and subsequent spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/12/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 659
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Montague
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96064
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 414004N
Event Location Longitude 1222144W
Event Location Airport MONTAGUE-YREKA ROHRER FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1O5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 5
Degrees magnetic from airport 48
Airport Elevation 2527
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID SIY
Elevation of weather observation facility 2651
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
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) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
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) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KSIY 121353Z AUTO 05005KT 10SM CLR 08/02 A30
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 32910
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 25 2014 3:31PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N15GG
NTSB Number WPR13FA269
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name GRAVES
Aircraft Model SH-2F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1004
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name GRAVES LARRY L
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City MONTAGUE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96064-0503
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name GRAVES LARRY L
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City MONTAGUE
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 96064-0503
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 1O5
Departure City Montague
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 641
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 1O5
Destination City Montague
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 25 2014 3:31PM
User who most recently changed record stam
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 --