- Date
- September 27, 2001, 19:00 local (Sep 28, 2001, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Duluth, MN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N653CStinson 108-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 4, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Minneapolis, Minnesota FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010927029289A
- Case key
- 53739
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 pilots failure to maintain directional control during the landing. Factors were the crosswind and the soft terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane nosed over after departing the runway on landing. The pilot said in his written statement, "I came from a nearby airport, Aitkin and came to land at Sky Harbor. Crosswinds are always an issue at Sky Harbor. On the end of the roll out, the plane went off runway on to sand. Although this is not uncommon, this sand was soft and the front tires sunk into the sand stopping the plane instantly. It went over...." The pilot also stated that the accident, "...could have been avoided by flying to superior to avoid this crosswind, or being better at landing in crosswinds." A weather station located about 10 miles from the accident site recorded the wind as 90 degrees at 9 knots.
Factual narrative
On September 27, 2001, about 1900 central daylight time, a Stinson 108-3, N653C, piloted by an uncertificated pilot, sustained substantial damage during landing on runway 14 (3,050 feet by 75 feet, asphalt), at the Sky Harbor Airport, Duluth, Minnesota. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not on a flight plan and was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No injuries were reported by the pilot or his two passengers. The flight originated from the Aitkin Municipal-Steve Kurtz Field Airport at 1830.
The pilot said in his written statement, "I came from a nearby airport, Aitkin and came to land at Sky Harbor. Crosswinds are always an issue at Sky Harbor. On the end of the roll out, the plane went off runway on to sand. Although this is not uncommon, this sand was soft and the front tires sunk into the sand stopping the plane instantly. It went over...." The pilot also stated that the accident, "...could have been avoided by flying to superior to avoid this crosswind, or being better at landing in crosswinds."
According to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, the pilot surendered his private pilot certificate on January 30,1996.
A weather station located about 10 miles from the accident site recorded the wind as 90 degrees at 9 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N653C
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-3653
- Airframe hours
- 2,240
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-165-B3, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gary L. Guptill
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 2001
- Departed
- AIT · Aitkin, MN
- Destination
- D36 · Duluth, MN
- Airport
- D36 · Sky Harbor, runway 14, 3,050 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 38
- Injuries
- None
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 122 total · 80 in this make and model · 102 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- DLH, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N653C · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.