- Date
- May 23, 1999, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Grainfield, KS
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N59260Boeing Stearman PT-27
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990523024109A
- Case key
- 46367
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 improper in-flight decision and failure to maintain adequate clearance with the ground.
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 pilot reported that he had a passenger on board the airplane who was videotaping a group of motorcyclists who were traveling on highway I-70. The pilot reported that he was flying at an altitude of 10 to 20 feet above ground altitude, with a 20 to 23 mph left quartering tailwind. He reported the airplane felt as though it were being pushed down into the wheat field. He reported the airplane's wheels started impacting the grain of the wheat field, and the airplane nosed over about 200 feet later.
Factual narrative
On May 23, 1999, at 1400 central daylight time, a Boeing Stearman PT-27, N59260, received substantial damage near Grainfield, Kansas. The airplane was flying low and maneuvering to video a group of motorcycles on the highway when it flew into a grain field and nosed over. The commercial pilot was not injured and the passenger received minor injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight had departed Oakley, Kansas, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that he had a passenger on board the airplane who was videotaping a group of motorcyclists who were traveling on highway I-70 on their way to Washington, D.C. The pilot reported that he was flying at an altitude of 10 to 20 feet above ground altitude with a 20 to 23 mph left quartering tailwind. He reported the airplane felt as though it were being pushed down into the wheat field. He reported the airplane's wheels started impacting the grain of the wheat field and the airplane nosed over about 200 feet later.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59260
- Reported as
- Boeing Stearman PT-27
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-4037
- Airframe hours
- 2,735
- Engine
- Continental R-670, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- L. M. Hammer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 18, 1997 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- OEL · Oakley, 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
- 70
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 9,372 total · 1,300 in this make and model · 6,764 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GLD, 65 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 N59260 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.