- Date
- August 14, 1996, 19:45 local (Aug 15, 1996, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbury, NE
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2538NPiper PA-38
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960814022599A
- Case key
- 10363
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
inadequate airspeed and an inadvertant stall during the initial takeoff climb. Factors associated with the accident were the rough terrain used for takeoff and the ditch at the departure end on the field.
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 student pilot landed the airplane in a farm field after becoming disoriented and low on fuel. The student called his instructor who flew to a nearby airport. The student and instructor purchased fuel, refueled the airplane and attempted to takeoff from the rough farm field. They reported that when the airplane crossed over a ditch at the end of the field, the airplane settled, impacted the terrain and nosed over. The instructor stated he did not walk the field to check its condition prior to the takeoff.
Factual narrative
On August 14, 1996, at 1945 central daylight time, a Piper PA-38, N2538N, registered to Shenandoah Aviation, Inc., nosed over following a loss of control on takeoff from a farm field in Fairbury, Nebraska. The airplane was substantially damaged. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and the student pilot on board were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The destination for the flight was Shenandoah, Iowa.
The CFI stated that he and the student pilot had flown together from Shenandoah, Iowa, to Omaha, Nebraska, to pick up another airplane. He stated that he was to fly one airplane back to Shenandoah and the student pilot was to fly N2538N back. He stated that the visibility had decreased down to four or five miles with haze at the time of the return flight. Upon his arrival at Shenandoah he noted that the student had not returned. A short time later he received a telephone call from the student who stated that he became disoriented during the return flight and was low on fuel, so he landed the airplane in a farm field in Fairbury. The CFI stated he then flew to Fairbury where he was met by the student pilot. They purchased five gallons of fuel and proceeded to the field where N2538N was located.
The CFI stated they added the five gallons of fuel to N2538N and attempted to takeoff from the field. The CFI stated he did not walk the field to check its condition prior to taking off. He stated that the field was rough and there was a ditch at the departure end. The CFI reported, "...when we flew above this ditch, there seemed to be some dead air that pulled us back down and the airplane passed over the ditch and landed hard on the other side of the ditch and then flipped over onto its back."
The student pilot's recall of the events surrounding the accident were basically the same as the CFI's.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2538N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0907
- Airframe hours
- 5,470
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-LCS, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Shenandoah Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 17, 1996 · 65 hours before
- Destination
- SDA · Shenandoah, IA
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
- 62
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,950 total · 4,700 in this make and model · 9,700 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BIE, 20 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.