# NTSB GAA16CA331: Beech F33, N853KS, Salina, KS, June 18, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: June 17, 2016, 20:45 local (Jun 18, 2016, 01:45 UTC) - Place: Salina, KS - Coordinates: 38.789165, -97.660835 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7892&lon=-97.6608&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 12, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: General Aviation Accidents - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 93457 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=GAA16CA331 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93457/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93457 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA331 ## Probable cause The flight instructor's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a collision with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) - [Landing: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) ## Analysis The flight instructor reported that he and his student pilot had remained in the traffic pattern, and had been practicing short field landings and power off 180 degree accuracy turns. The flight instructor further reported that he instructed his student to perform a short field landing for their sixth and final landing, and once "they had the runway made", he would take the flight controls. He intended to demonstrate how "ground effect plays a part in our landings and how one can use it to their advantage if you were in a situation where one would be short on a power off 180 accuracy landing or in a real world situation". About 50 feet above the ground and over the runway threshold the flight instructor took the controls from the student pilot. He further reported that while he was talking to his student pilot about how "ground effect can extend your landing distance if you carry extra airspeed", he noticed that the pitch attitude was higher than normal and before he could add power or reduce the pitch attitude, the right wing "gave way" and impacted the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the right aileron. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A (2004). This handbook discusses stalls and states in part: The key to stall awareness is the pilot's ability to visualize the wing's angle of attack in any particular circumstance, and thereby be able to estimate his/her margin of safety above stall. This is a learned skill that must be acquired early in flight training and carried through the pilot's entire flying career. The pilot must understand and appreciate factors such as airspeed, pitch attitude, load factor, relative wind, power setting, and aircraft configuration in order to develop a reasonably accurate mental picture of the wing's angle of attack at any particular time. It is essential to flight safety that a pilot takes into consideration this visualization of the wing's angle of attack prior to entering any flight maneuver. Stall accidents usually result from an inadvertent stall at a low altitude in which a recovery was not accomplished prior to contact with the surface. ## Factual narrative The flight instructor reported that he and his student pilot had remained in the traffic pattern, and had been practicing short field landings and power off 180 degree accuracy turns. The flight instructor further reported that he instructed his student to perform a short field landing for their sixth and final landing, and once "they had the runway made", he would take the flight controls. He intended to demonstrate how "ground effect plays a part in our landings and how one can use it to their advantage if you were in a situation where one would be short on a power off 180 accuracy landing or in a real world situation". About 50 feet above the ground and over the runway threshold the flight instructor took the controls from the student pilot. He further reported that while he was talking to his student pilot about how "ground effect can extend your landing distance if you carry extra airspeed", he noticed that the pitch attitude was higher than normal and before he could add power or reduce the pitch attitude, the right wing "gave way" and impacted the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the right aileron. The pilot verified that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A (2004). This handbook discusses stalls and states in part: The key to stall awareness is the pilot's ability to visualize the wing's angle of attack in any particular circumstance, and thereby be able to estimate his/her margin of safety above stall. This is a learned skill that must be acquired early in flight training and carried through the pilot's entire flying career. The pilot must understand and appreciate factors such as airspeed, pitch attitude, load factor, relative wind, power setting, and aircraft configuration in order to develop a reasonably accurate mental picture of the wing's angle of attack at any particular time. It is essential to flight safety that a pilot takes into consideration this visualization of the wing's angle of attack prior to entering any flight maneuver. Stall accidents usually result from an inadvertent stall at a low altitude in which a recovery was not accomplished prior to contact with the surface. ## Aircraft - Registration: N853KS (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: BEECH F33 (A) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: CE-1765 - Year built: 1993 - Airframe hours: 6066.3 - Engines: Continental IO-520-BB 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Kansas State University Salina - Registered owner: Kansas State University Salina - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: 100 hour, June 6, 2016 - Departed: SLN, Salina, KS - Destination: SLN, Salina, KS - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: SLN, Salina Rgnl, runway 17, 12,301 × 150 ft, concrete - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 26; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 10, 2016; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 1,026.5 total, 169.3 in this make and model, 980.7 as pilot in command, 181.6 in the last 90 days, 55.5 in the last 30 days, 7.5 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 20; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review July 15, 2015; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 288.3 total, 35.2 in this make and model, 250 as pilot in command, 29.7 in the last 90 days, 13.8 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 130° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 91 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.92 inHg - Observed at: KSLN, 1 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160617006519A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160617006519A), Jun 17, 2016: Beech F33A, Salina, KS, Substantial damage. On June 17, 2016 at approximately 2100 local time, a commercial pilot exercising the privileges of a certified flight instructor rating with airplane single… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93457. 2.4 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40444028&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Accident Photo (Courtesy of FAA) (item 2, .PDF, 1 photo, 103 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40444029&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Accident%20Photo%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.