# Accident 19980225001779A: Cessna 195, Chapel Hill, NC, February 25, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 25, 1998, 20:04 local time - Place: Chapel Hill, NC - Airport: Horace Williams Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.9099° N, 79.1496° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9099&lon=-79.1496&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4356V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4356V-2001-04-09) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 195 (registry code 2073102, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-195) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 195 - Reported engine: JACOBS R7559 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 213 total, 25 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA088) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980225001779A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON FEBRUARY 25, 1998, ABOUT 2004 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 195, N4356V, REGISTERED TO AN INDIVIDUAL, CRASHED DURING AN ABORTED LANDING AT HORACE WILLIAMS AIRPORT, CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT LAS DEPARTED MOUNT STERLING, KENTUCKY, THE SAME DAY, ABOUT 1850. THE PILOT STATED THAT DURING LANDING ON RUNWAY 27 AT HORACE WILLIAMS AIRPORT, THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AND BOUNCED. WHEN THE AIRCRAFT AGAIN TOUCHED DOWN HE BECAME AWARE THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOW ON A HEADING 30 DEGREES TO THE LEFT OF RUNWAY HEADING, AND WAS MOVING TOWARD THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND THE RUNWAY LIGHTS. HE DECIDED TO PERFORM A GO-AROUND AND APPLIED FULL ENGINE POWER AND HEAVY RIGHT RUDDER TO CORRECT FOR THE DRIFT TO THE LEFT. THE AIRCRAFT LIFTED OFF THE RUNWAY AND HE COULD NO LONGER SEE RUNWAY LIGHTS. HE THEN NOTICED HE HAD OVER CORRECTED FOR THE LEFT DRIFT AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS TRAVELING TO THE RIGHT OF THE RUNWAY HEADING. HE HAD HIS HEAD IN THE COCKPIT MONITORING AIRSPEED AND REMOVING LANDING TRIM WHEN THE RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER POINTED OUT THAT THEY WERE APPROACHING A TREE LINE. HE STARTED A TURN TO THE LEFT, BACK TOWARDS THE RUNWAY AND AWAY FROM THE TREES AND THE LEFT WING OF THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED IN WHAT HE BELIEVED TO BE THE START OF A SPIN TO THE LEFT. HE NEXT AWOKE IN THE WRECKAGE. POSTCRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY AN FAA INSPECTOR AND REPRESENTATIVES OF CESSNA AIRCRAFT SHOWED NO EVIDENCE OF PRECRASH MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE, FLIGHT CONTROLS, OR ENGINE AND PROPELLER. ON OCTOBER 22, 1997, THE PILOT APPLIED FOR AN FAA THIRD CLASS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE. THIS CERTIFICATE WAS DENIED BY THE FAA. TITLE 14 CFR PART 61.103 STATES "TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE, A PERSON MUST HOLD AT LEAST A THIRD-CLASS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE." A REVIEW OF THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK SHOWED THE PILOT HAD FLOWN ONE FLIGHT HOUR AND PERFORMED 1 LANDING AT NIGHT IN THE PRECEDING 90 DAYS. TITLE 14 CFR PART 61.57 STATES "NO PERSON MAY ACT AS PILOT IN COMMAND OF AN AIRCRAFT CARRYING PASSENGERS AT NIGHT UNLESS, WITHIN THE PRECEDING 90 DAYS THAT PERSON HAS MADE NOT FEWER THAN THREE TAKEOFFS AND THREE LANDINGS TO TO A FULL STOP, AT NIGHT, AS THE SOLE MANIPULATOR OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS IN THE SAME CATEGORY AND CLASS OF AIRCRAFT." (-23) THE PILOT DAN ESSIG ATTEMPTED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 27. HE DECIDED TO CIRCLE BACK AROUND FOR THE LANDING. ON FINAL THE PILOT STATED THAT EVERYTHING LOOKED FINE AND THAT THERE WAS A CROSSWIND. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD AND BOUNCED BACK INTO THE AIR, TO THE LEFT. THE PILOT APPLIED FULL POWER AND TURNED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT. THE PASSENGER ADVISED THE PILOT OF THE TREES. THE PILOT BANKED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE LEFT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND AND CAME TO REST UPSIDE-DOWN WITH THE ENGINE SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. ## 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 MIA98LA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA088), Feb 26, 1998: Cessna 195 (N4356V), Chapel Hill, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft during a go-around, followed by his failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering to avoid trees, which resulted in a stall and… 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.