# Accident 19970418006219A: Swftms GC1A, Wilmington, OH, April 18, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 18, 1997, 14:45 local time
- Place: Wilmington, OH
- Airport: Clinton
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.4407° N, 83.8298° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4407&lon=-83.8298&mi=10
- Aircraft: N80523, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N80523) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Globe GC-1A (registry code 9230102, https://openairdocs.org/model/globe-gc-1a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SWFTMS GC1A
- Reported engine: CONT C90*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 586 total, 3 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD97LA066](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD97LA066) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970418006219A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CURRED OFF RUNWAY INTO TREES LANDING IN QUARTERING TAILWIND. LOW TIME IN TYPE UNFAVORABLE WIND FACTORS. (-23) THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91.  THE FLIGHT WAS FLOWN IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (VMC) AND OTHER THEN WIND GUSTS FROM THE NORTHWEST UP TO 18 KNOTS, WEATHER (SKY AND CEILING) WAS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE A FACTOR.  THE PIC COMPLETED A SUCCESSFUL LANDING ON RUNWAY 20 AT CLINTON FIELD, (I66).  CURRENT WINDS WERE APPROXIMATELY 310 DEGREES AT 10 KTS GUSTING TO 18 KTS.  THIS GAVE THE PIC AN APPROXIMATE 90 DEGREE OR MORE RIGHT CROSSWIND.  THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL POSSIBILITY OF THE PIC EXCEEDING THE CROSSWIND COMPONENT OF THE AIRCRAFT HE WAS FLYING.  UPON THE LANDING ROLLOUT, THE PIC LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT AND DEPARTED THE RUNWAYS HARD SURFACE. (THIS DEVIATION IN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL IS USUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO BE A "WEATHER COCKING" PHENOMENON COMMONLY FOUND IN CONVENTIONAL GEAR AIRPLANES).  AFTER REGAINING CONTROL OF HIS AIRCRAFT BUT STILL ON THE GRASS NEXT TO THE RUNWAY, THE PIC APPLIED FULL THROTTLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO SALVAGE THE LANDING AND BECOME AIRBORNE.  AS THE TAIL OF THE AI                                              RCRAFT RAISED THE PIC LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AGAIN, DUE TO GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION AND VEERED TO THE LEFT, CROSSING RUNWAY 20 AT AN APPROXIMATE 35 DEGREE ANGLE. WHILE EVENTUALLY BECOMING AIRBORNE IN GROUND EFFECT, HE CONTINUED ON THIS VECTOR ACROSS THE RUNWAY EVENTUALLY COMING TO REST APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET SOUTHEAST OF ITS HARD SURFACE AND CRADLED IN AN APPLE TREE IN AN APPLE ORCHARD WHICH IS COTANGENT TO THE AIRPORT PROPERTY.  MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE LANDOWNER'S FENCE AND SEVERAL APPLE TREES.  THE PIC WAS NOT INJURED.  FIRST RESPONDERS AND THE COUNTY SHERIFF'S TROOPER WERE ON THE SCENE.  THE PIC REFUSED ANY MEDICAL TREATMENT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (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 IAD97LA066](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD97LA066), Apr 18, 1997: Globe GC-1-A (N80523), Wilmington, OH, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing, which resulted in a collision with trees. Related factors were: the crosswind, and lack of experience in the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
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.