# Incident 20000323000819I: Cessna 140, St Simons Islan, GA, March 23, 2000

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 23, 2000, 16:00 local time
- Place: St Simons Islan, GA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.1505° N, 81.3695° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Saint Simons Island, GA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.1505&lon=-81.3695&mi=10
- Aircraft: N89195, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N89195-2013-08-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 140 (registry code 2071602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 140
- Reported engine: CONT C85*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 704 total, 360 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000323000819I

## Narrative

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

PILOT WAS FLYING OVER EGG ISLAND (LITTLE ST SIMON) AT A LOW ALTITUDE WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED A FLOCK OF PELICANS. TO AVOID THE BIRDS, THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND ON THE BEACH. AN EFFORT WAS MADE TO, WITHOUT STOPPING, TURN THE AIRCRAFT AROUND AND TAKEOFF IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. DURING THIS EFFORT, THE MAIN GEAR WHEELS DUG INTO THE SAND AND THE AIRCRAFT TIPPED UP ON ITS NOSE WITH THE PROPELLER STRIKING THE SAND. CONTACT WAS ESTABLISHED WITH SEATOW, A LOCAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION, TO REMOVE THE AIRCRAFT FROM THE ISLAND. MR. JOSEPH FENDIG, FROM SEATOW, COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE NO. 257191234, ARRIVED AT THE AIRCRAFT. HE MADE AN EFFORT TO STRAIGHTEN THE PROPELLER, STARTED THE ENGINE, AND FLEW THE AIRCRAFT TO THE MALCOM MCKINNON AIRPORT ON ST SIMON ISLAND. NO CERTIFIED MECHANIC WAS INVOLVED, NO LOG BOOK ENTRIES WERE MADE AND NO FERRY PERMIT WAS OBTAINED. THE PROPELLER WAS REMOVED AND TAKEN TO THE SENSENICH PROPELLER SERVICE, INC. SHOP IN GAINSVILLE, GEORGIA FOR REPAIR. THE PROPELLER WAS NOT REPAIRABLE.

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.
