- Date
- January 16, 2022, 07:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Winnemucca, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N828SLeach Michael Rans S7S
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Structural icing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20220116000709A
- Case key
- 104542
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to ensure the airplane’s wings were free of contaminates before departure.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, before takeoff he noticed a visible layer of frost covering the airplane’s wings. He removed the frost with a towel and proceeded with the engine warm up and preflight checks which lasted about 20 minutes. During the initial climb, the airplane felt “mushy” and failed to gain altitude. The pilot elected to conduct an off-airport landing to a brush covered field. During the landing the airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that the frost must have reformed before takeoff and that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N828S
- Reported as
- Leach Michael Rans S7S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 0504374
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 1,326
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 30, 2021 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- KWMC · Winnemucca, NV
- Destination
- UO2 · Blackfoot, ID
- Airport
- WMC · Winnemucca Municipal Airport, runway 020, 4,800 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 31, 2020
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 973 total · 550 in this make and model · 973 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 80° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KWMC, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KWMC 161656Z AUTO 08003KT 10SM CLR M01/M03 A3027 RMK AO2 SLP273 T10111033
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 21, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.