Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 337 near Pittsville, WI — 2009-04-08

Final reportCEN09GA242
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Date
2009-04-08
Location
Pittsville, WI, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 337
Registration
N2489S
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude.

NTSB narrative

The public-use airplane was being operated as a single-pilot aerial observation aircraft when it was responding to a ground fire. The fire originated from a garbage fire at a house that was adjacent to a wooded area. The wooded area was at the northern edge of a fallow agricultural field that the airplane was seen initially flying over on a southerly heading at an altitude of about 100 feet above the trees. The airplane then turned towards a northerly heading and descended to an altitude of about 35 feet above the field. The airplane engine noise then increased which was then followed by a wing drop consistent with an aerodynamic stall as it approached the tree line. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have maintained a higher altitude during fire response.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 40 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents40

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