- Date
- August 31, 1997, 09:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Gerlach, NV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4459PTaylorcraft BC-12D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970831043199A
- Case key
- 29890
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 failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while attempting a right slip, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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 aircraft collided with the runway and drug the right wing tip during a landing attempt. The aircraft then ground looped to the right off the runway. The pilot stated that the airplane had insufficient power to compensate for an increased sink rate on short final. A witness on the ground saw the wings rocking from side to side when the aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 40 feet, followed by a sudden veer to the left and an increase in sink rate prior to impact with the ground. The passenger, who was not a pilot, reported that 'we were crabbing and I thought he [the pilot] was pulling out' just prior to the ground collision.
Factual narrative
On August 31, 1997, at 0950 hours Pacific daylight time, a Taylorcraft BC-12D, N4459P, was substantially damaged when it collided with the runway and drug the right wing tip. The aircraft then ground looped to the right off the runway. The aircraft was landing at the Fly Ranch, 20 miles north of Gerlach, Nevada, at the time. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot stated that the airplane had insufficient power to compensate for an increased sink rate on short final. A witness on the ground saw the wings rocking from side to side when the aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 40 feet, followed by a sudden veer to the left and an increase in sink rate prior to impact with the ground. The passenger, who was not a pilot, reported that "we were crabbing and I thought he [the pilot] was pulling out" just prior to the ground collision.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4459P
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft BC-12D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6673
- Airframe hours
- 1,249
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William J. Gruenthal
- Registered owner
- William A. Gruenthal
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 5, 1997 · 53 hours before
- Departed
- 4SD · Stead, NV
- Destination
- NONE · NV
- Airport
- NONE · Fly Ranch, runway 36, 4,700 × 100 ft, dirt
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 558 total · 485 in this make and model · 498 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.