- Date
- August 17, 2012, 09:35 local (14:35 UTC)
- Place
- Tribune, KS
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6006JCessna A150L
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 26, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20120817027669A
- Case key
- 84716
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 maintain clearance from a corn crop.
Findings · 3
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 was flying in an easterly direction at a low airspeed and altitude and examining his crops. As he turned toward the south, the right wing contacted the tops of corn stalks and the airplane struck the ground.
Factual narrative
On August 17, 2012, about 0935 central daylight time, a Cessna A150L, N6006J, impacted a corn field 13 miles, north of Tribune, Kansas. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was seriously injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Sharon Springs, Kansas, Municipal Airport (6KS4) about 0900. Due to the extent of his injuries, the pilot has been unable to complete National Transportation Safety Board Form 6120.1/2, Pilot-Operator Aircraft Accident Report. The airport manager stated that the pilot departed 6KS4 about 0900, and at 0938 he telephoned his wife to tell her he had been in an accident. Emergency personnel were notified and the pilot was transported to the hospital. The airport manager said he went to the scene shortly after the accident and found a large quantity of fuel in the dirt beneath the airplane. On August 22, 2012, Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and a representative of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation met with the Tribune Municipal Airport manager to examine the wreckage. The engine was partially separated from the airframe and the firewall was wrinkled. The bottom of the fuselage beneath the cabin area was buckled, and the fuselage skin was wrinkled. Both wings were crushed. The owner and president of Chem-Tek Spray Company met with investigators and told them that the pilot had been examining the pilot's crops and was flying in an easterly direction at a low airspeed and altitude. As he banked right to turn towards the south, the right wing contacted the tops of corn stalks and the airplane struck the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6006J
- Reported as
- Cessna A150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- A1500306
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- A. Bradford Smith
- Registered owner
- A. Bradford Smith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Departed
- 6KS4 · Sharon Springs, KS
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
- 52
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- KGLD, 10 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 1, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 109 KB 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.