- Date
- October 14, 1990, 19:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Lexington, NC
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7103LGrumman AA-5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901014045839A
- Case key
- 8349
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 failure to establish an approach profile which would have allowed him to make a safe landing on the runway. The pilot misjudged his altitude and airspeed throughout the approach. A factor to the accident was the collision with the railroad berm.
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 overshot the runway while attempting a full-stop landing. The pilot said that this was the second landing attempt. On the first attempt, he was too high and fast for a safe landing. During the next approach the carburetor heat lever was placed in the on position for the landing. When the pilot realized that he was again too high and fast, he attempted a go-around. But there was not an instant power response when the throttle was advanced. The pilot decided to continue the landing attempt. The airplane went off the departure end of runway 8 and collided with a railroad embankment; there were no mechanical problems reported. .
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7103L
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-5A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5-0403
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2C, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Adkins, David
- Departed
- RUQ · Salisbury, NC
- Airport
- EXX · Lexington Muni, runway 8, 3,300 × 65 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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 250 total · 6 in this make and model · 250 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- GSO, 30 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.