# NTSB SEA98LA143: McCarty Avid Magnum, N64KM, Kalispell, MT, July 18, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 18, 1998, 14:52 local (20:52 UTC) - Place: Kalispell, MT - Coordinates: 48.189403, -114.379112 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.1894&lon=-114.3791&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report February 15, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 43574 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA98LA143 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/43574/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA143 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. A factor was gusty wind conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot was landing on runway 13. He reported the winds as being from approximately 100 degrees at approximately 10 knots, gusting to approximately 15 knots. He reported that the aircraft 'ground looped well into the landing roll' at an estimated speed of 35 MPH (the aircraft's landing-configuration stall speed is 36 MPH), and that the aircraft came to rest to the left of the runway. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved. ## Factual narrative On July 18, 1998, approximately 1452 mountain daylight time, a McCarty Avid Magnum experimental-category airplane, N64KM, was substantially damaged in a loss-of-control accident on landing on runway 13 at Kalispell City Airport, Kalispell, Montana. The two aircraft occupants, both commercial pilots and certificated flight instructors, received minor injuries. The 14 CFR 91 flight was a local flight out of Kalispell. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight. The pilot reported that the aircraft, which was equipped with fixed conventional landing gear, "ground looped well into [the] landing rollout" at an estimated speed of 35 MPH (NOTE: according to a commercial reference source, the aircraft's landing-configuration stall speed is 36 MPH, and the airplane is capable of a 200-foot landing roll.) He reported that at the time, winds were from approximately 100 degrees at approximately 10 knots, gusting to approximately 15 knots (calm winds were reported at Kalispell's Glacier Park International Airport, 9 nautical miles north-northeast of Kalispell City Airport, in a 1456 hourly observation.) In a diagram of the accident sequence drawn by the pilot on his NTSB accident report narrative, the pilot indicated that the airplane departed the left side of the runway during the accident sequence. The pilot indicated on his NTSB accident report that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident. According to a statement provided by the second aircraft occupant/pilot to FAA investigators, the aircraft owner, who had also built the aircraft, was flying the airplane from the left seat at the time of the accident, with the second pilot in the right seat. The second pilot told investigators that at the time of the accident, there was a quartering crosswind from the west. The second pilot stated that on landing, the aircraft began to veer to the left with the right wing starting to lift. The second pilot stated that he then began telling the pilot flying to get the nose straight and lower the wing, and then repeated his instruction to get the nose straight. The second pilot stated that at this point, the aircraft veered sharply to the left and tipped. The aircraft slid another 50 feet sideways, then tipped the rest of the way, striking the right wing tip and stopping abruptly. Kalispell City runway 13 is a 3,600 foot long by 60 foot wide asphalt runway. A fly-in was in progress at the airport at the time of the accident, and a temporary air traffic control tower was in operation (the airport is normally non-towered.) According to the 1998 Montana state airport directory, the airport is equipped with a windsock located adjacent to a parallel taxiway to the east of the runway at approximately midfield. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N64KM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N64KM), registered now, S/N KM-2, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: McCarty AVID MAGNUM (AVID MAGNU) - Registry model: [Mccarty Kirk AVID MAGNUM](https://openairdocs.org/model/mccarty-kirk-avid-magnum) (registry code 05603BI) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: KM-2 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A4N 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kirk A. Mccarty - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, September 12, 1997 - Departed: S27, KALISPELL, MT - Airport: S27, Kalispell City, runway 13, 3,600 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 61; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 714 total, 72 in this make and model, 636 as pilot in command, 13 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 100° at 10 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 100 °F ## 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 19980718021659A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980718021659A), Jul 18, 1998: Amtr AVIDMAGNUM, Kalispell, MT, Substantial damage. Lost directional control landing. Right main gear folded. Slid off runway. (.4)the pilot was landing on runway 13. He reported the winds as being from… ## Other investigations on N64KM (1) 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. - [NTSB SEA03LA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA03LA108), Jun 17, 2003: McCarty Avid Magnum (N64KM), Renton, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor's unexpected encounter with control interference when the student applied brakes during the landing roll. 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.