- Date
- October 17, 2002, 16:34 local (20:34 UTC)
- Place
- Opa Locka, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N903WACessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 5, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Miama FSDO
- FAA report
- 20021017027759A
- Case key
- 55912
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot' inadequate evaluation of weather information, and the selection of the wrong runway that resulted in an attempted takeoff with a tailwind and the subsequent loss of control during takeoff.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The certified flight instructor (CFI), who was flying the airplane, and the student pilot were conducting touch-and-go landings to runway 27. They had completed three touch-and-go procedures and were on the fourth takeoff when an updraft lifted the airplane off the runway. The student pilot reported that the airplane ballooned into the air and came down "hard" on to the runway. The airplane also collided with a runway light and the right wing tip was also damaged. The CFI did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The nearest weather reporting facility, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, reported prevailing winds from 050 degrees at 14 knots at the time of the accident. The CFI obtained weather information from Opa Locka Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS)
Factual narrative
On October 17 at 1634 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N903WA, registered to and operated by Wayman Aviation Services Inc., collided with the ground during a training flight at the Opa Locka Airport in Opa Locka, Florida. The instructional flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot were not injured. The flight departed time from Opa Locka, Florida, at 1610, on October 17, 2002.
According to the CFI, who was flying the airplane, they were conducting touch-and-go landings to runway 27. They had completed three touch-and-go procedures and were on the fourth takeoff when an updraft lifted the airplane off the runway. The student pilot reported that the airplane ballooned into the air and came down "hard" on to the runway. The airplane also collided with a runway light and the right wing tip was also damaged. The CFI did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The nearest weather reporting facility, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, reported the prevailing winds from 050 degrees at 14 knots at the time of the accident. The CFI obtained weather information from Opa Locka Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS) before the first takeoff.
the directional control was lost and the airplane collided with the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N903WA
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-61334
- Airframe hours
- 7,373
- Engine
- Avco Lycoming O-320-HZAD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wayman Aviation Services Inc.,
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 10, 2002 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- OPF · Opa Locka, FL
- Airport
- OPF · Opalocka, runway 27, 4,306 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- January 7, 2002
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 580 total · 517 in this make and model · 500 as pilot in command · 162 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- FLL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.