- Date
- June 19, 2005, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, TN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N10KSGlobe GC-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Nashville
- FAA report
- 20050619014879A
- Case key
- 61930
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's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
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 pilot was attempting a routine landing, at McMinn County Airport when the accident occurred. The pilot was approximately 15 feet above the runway when he began his flare. He then nosed his plane down and forced a landing touching down on his main gear. The pilot stated that he "landed very hard" he then taxied to the hangar. Post examination of the airplane revealed flight surfaces were intact. The airplane had damage to its center section of the airframe, and some rivet heads were detached. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On June 19, 2005, approximately 1400 eastern daylight time, a Globe Swift GC-1B airplane, N10KS, owned and operated by a private owner, collided with the runway during a landing at McMinn County Airport, in Athens, Tennessee. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed McMinn County Airport at approximately 1330, June 19, 2005.
The pilot was attempting a routine landing on runway 02 when the accident occurred. The pilot reported that the airplane was approximately 15 feet above the runway when he began his flare. The pilot then nosed the airplane down and forced a landing, touching down on the main landing gear. The pilot stated that the airplane "landed very hard" and he then taxied the airplane to the hanger.
The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed flight surfaces were intact. The airplane had damage to the center section of the airframe, and some rivet heads were detached. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane.
This was the pilot's first flight within the last 90 days, and he only had about 25 hours of dual time in a tail-wheel airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10KS
- Reported as
- Globe GC-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 388
- Airframe hours
- 2,455
- Engine
- Continental O300-B, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Heathfield
- Registered owner
- James E Heathfield
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2005 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- KMMI · Athens, TN
- Destination
- KMMI · Athens, TN
- Airport
- MMI · McMinn County Airport, runway 2, 5,000 × 75 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
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,036 total · 32 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.