- Date
- January 6, 2006, 12:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N747MDAppel Mustang II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20060106000319A
- Case key
- 63058
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 inadequate preflight decision to depart in gusty winds, and the pilot's failure to maintain direction control during the departure roll. The high gusty crosswind contributed to the accident.
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 said he was attempting to depart from runway 33 when he encountered a gust of wind. The airplane veered to the left and departed the runway. The nose wheel got stuck in the soft dirt and the airplane nosed over, causing substantial damage. The winds were reported as 300 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots.
Factual narrative
The pilot said he was attempting to depart from runway 33 when he encountered a gust of wind. The airplane veered to the left and departed the runway. The nose wheel stuck in the soft dirt and the airplane nosed over. The cowling was torn off, the firewall was wrinkled, the canopy and "roll bar" were bent and broken, the vertical stabilizer was crushed down 90 degrees at midspan, and the right wing tip was bent up.
According to the METAR (routine aviation weather report) taken at Jefferson County Airport, 7 nautical miles southwest of the accident location, winds were reported as 300 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N747MD
- Reported as
- Appel Mustang II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 71-1
- Airframe hours
- 831
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 1, 2005
- Departed
- 48V · Erie, CO
- Destination
- SAF · Santa Fe, NM
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 48V · Tri-County, runway 33, 4,700 × 60 ft, concrete
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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 464 total · 21 in this make and model · 368 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- BJC, 7 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.