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Accidents · NTSB GAA16CA331 · Final report

Beech F33 accident near Salina, Kansas, June 18, 2016

On June 18, 2016 at about 1:45 am local time, a 1993 Beech F33, registered N853KS, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Salina, Kansas (Salina Rgnl airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

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.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
June 18, 2016 · about 1:45 am local time
Place
Salina, Kansas · Salina Rgnl · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Beech F33 A, built 1993 · all F33s on the register
Registration
N853KS · registry record · serial CE-1765
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

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.

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

What happened, in order

  1. Aerodynamic stall/spin during landing defining event
  2. Abnormal runway contact during landing

The NTSB's findings

  • cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Instructor/check pilot
  • cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Angle of attack › Capability exceeded

Flight instructor

  • Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
  • Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 1,026.5 hours in all; 169.3 in this make and model; 181.6 in the last 90 days; 55.5 in the last 30 days; 980.7 as pilot in command; 727.7 on instruments
  • Last flight review: May 10, 2016
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
  • Seat: rgt
  • Injury: no injuries

Dual student

  • Certificate: private
  • Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 288.3 hours in all; 35.2 in this make and model; 29.7 in the last 90 days; 13.8 in the last 30 days; 250 as pilot in command
  • Last flight review: July 15, 2015
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: no injuries

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 6,066.3 hours
  • Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 6, 2016
  • Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: retractable
  • Engine: Continental IO-520-BB (piston); 5,721 hours total
  • Operator: Kansas State University Salina

The flight

  • Departed from: SLN Salina KS
  • Destination: SLN Salina KS
  • Flight plan: not recorded
  • Runway 17, 12,301 ft by 150 ft
  • A second pilot was aboard

Weather at the time

  • Light: dusk
  • Wind: from 130° at 10 knots
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
  • Observation at 1:53 am from KSLN, 1 miles away

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew2

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

2 documents, released by the NTSB on August 31, 2016. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.

The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.

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.