Maule M-7-235B accident near Prescott, Arizona, February 20, 2007
On February 20, 2007 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Maule M-7-235B, registered N39KB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Prescott, Arizona (Prescott airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, and his failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall/mush during an aborted takeoff, which resulted in a loss of control, and an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors associated with the accident are snow, wing contamination (snow), and an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 2007 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Prescott, Arizona · Prescott · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-7-235B · all M-7-235Bs on the register
- Registration
- N39KB · registry record · serial 23082C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot decided to abort the takeoff in the initial climb, and the airplane landed hard, collapsing the right main landing gear. Immediately after takeoff the airplane did not feel right to the pilot, and he pulled the throttle off to abort the takeoff. During the landing attempt the airplane stalled and landed hard, collapsing the right landing gear. Examination of the airplane by airport management personnel immediately after the accident revealed that the wing had approximately 1/2-inch of wet snow covering 2/3 of the upper surface of the wing, including the vortex generators. The pilot stated that during his preflight he had only cleared some of the snow from around the vortex generators.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KPRC Prescott AK
- Destination: KA09 Mojave Valley AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21R, 4,846 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 32°F (0°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 4:12 pm from KPRC
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.
Other NTSB records under N39KB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.