ATL04LA122

NTSB accident investigation · Quicksilver GT-500 · Cleveland, GA · May 24, 2004

Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
May 24, 2004, 15:54 local (19:54 UTC)
Place
Cleveland, GA
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N5XYQuicksilver GT-500
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report October 28, 2004
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
Atlanta FSDO
FAA report
20040524030399A
Case key
59354

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control and his inadequate compensation for wind during takeoff. A factor was crosswind condition.

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.

In flight collision with objectLanding - aborted
Compensation for wind conditions - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Object - tree(s)
Directional control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Weather condition - crosswindFactor

Analysis

According to the student pilot, there was a "significant crosswind" at the time of landing. The student pilot stated that he cannot recall any other events prior to or during the accident. The owner of the property where the airplane came to rest stated that on the afternoon of the accident, the winds were gusting from a westerly direction. Witnesses stated that the airplane was landing toward the south, when the airplane bounced on the runway, and the pilot attempted to take-off. As the pilot maneuvered for the climb out, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway, collided with 20-foot tall trees 20 feet from the edge of the runway, where it was lodged in a level attitude approximately 12 feet above the ground. The wreckage site was approximately mid-field (1400 feet down the runway), 20 feet left of the runway surface. A post-accident examination of the airplane was unable to be performed. Witnesses stated that the tail assembly was separated from the fuselage and both wings were crushed aft.. The Quicksilver GT-500 is a sport category, experimental aircraft. It has a reported take-off distance of 220 feet and landing distance of 260 feet.

Factual narrative

On May 24, 2004, at 1554 eastern daylight time, a Quicksilver GT-500 experimental airplane, N5XY, registered to and operated by a student pilot, collided with trees during an attempt to take off after a bounced landing at Mountain Airpark, Cleveland, Georgia. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The student pilot suffered serious injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Mathis Field, Cumming, Georgia on May 24, 2004, at an undetermined time.

According to the student pilot, there was a "significant crosswind" at the time of landing. The student pilot stated that he cannot recall any other events prior to or during the accident. The owner of the property where the airplane came to rest stated that on the afternoon of the accident, the winds were gusting from a westerly direction. Witnesses stated that the airplane was landing toward the south, when the airplane bounced on the runway, and the pilot attempted to take-off. As the pilot maneuvered for the climb out, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway, collided with 20-foot tall trees 20 feet from the edge of the runway, where it was lodged in a level attitude approximately 12 feet above the ground. The wreckage site was approximately mid-field, 20 feet left of the runway surface.

A post-accident examination of the airplane was unable to be performed. Witnesses stated that the tail assembly was separated from the fuselage and both wings were crushed aft.

Mountain Airpark in Cleveland, Georgia is a private fly-in community. The north-south oriented runway is 2800 feet long and 150 feet wide with trees surrounding all sides of the runway. The runway surface is turf/grass, and has a field elevation of 1438 feet above mean sea level.

The Quicksilver GT-500 is a sport category, experimental aircraft. It has a reported take-off distance of 220 feet and landing distance of 260 feet. Pilot and aircraft logbooks were not recovered for examination, however, approximately one month prior to the accident, the student pilot reported four hours of total flight time on his medical examination application.

Efforts to secure a 6120.1/2 NTSB Pilot/Operator Report from the pilot were unsuccessful.

Aircraft

Registration
N5XY
Reported as
Quicksilver GT-500
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
357
Engine
Rotax 582, 64 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Kenneth Franck
Registered owner
Kenneth Frank
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Departed
GA27 · Cumming, GA
Destination
0GE5 · Cleveland, GA
Airport
0GE5 · Mountain Airpark, runway n/s, 2,800 × 150 ft, grass/turf

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
Pilot
Age
43
Injuries
Serious
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Flight hours
4 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
260° at 7 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
84 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
30.05 inHg
Observed at
KGVL, 19 nm away

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.