Amateur-built SA3B Lightning accident near Kimball, Nebraska, September 30, 2005
On September 30, 2005 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SA3B Lightning, registered N4747G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kimball, Nebraska (Kimball Muni/Robert E. Arraj airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadvertent stall and low airspeed by the pilot following takeoff. Contributing factors were the low altitude at the time of occurrence, the high density altitude, and the propeller.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 30, 2005 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Kimball, Nebraska · Kimball Muni/Robert E. Arraj · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SA3B Lightning · all SA3B Lightnings on the register
- Registration
- N4747G · no longer on the register · serial P-360
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental amateur-built airplane was found off the departure end of a runway in a 90-degree nose-down attitude. Visual meteorological conditions with a density altitude of about 7,100 feet mean sea level prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was purchased by the pilot two days before the accident. The pilot accumulated a total flight time of about 36 hours since his last airman medical certificate dated September 9, 2002, which expired 24 months later. He accumulated a total flight time of about 12 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane. A cruise propeller had been installed on the airplane and no documentation of such an installation was recorded with the Federal Aviation Administration. Examination of the airplane revealed flight control and engine continuity.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 240 hours in all; 12 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 191 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, September 1, 2005; 10.8 hours since
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IBM Kimball NE
- Destination: Laramie WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 6,199 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 11 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from IBM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.