- Date
- August 11, 2011, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rockwall, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N12CABeech 35-C33
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 3, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110811017699A
- Case key
- 81461
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 loss of control while landing with a tailwind due to his misinterpretation of the wind conditions.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was returning to his home airport and obtained the automated weather information from a nearby airport. The pilot misinterpreted the wind direction, which was from 010 degrees at 9 knots, as 110 degrees at 9 knots. As a result, the pilot landed long on runway 17 with a left quartering tailwind, bounced, and tried to turn onto a taxiway with too much speed. The pilot was unable to slow the airplane down and subsequently went off the end of the runway into a construction zone. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the firewall and left wing spar were substantially damaged. No mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation were noted with the airplane or its systems.
Factual narrative
The private pilot was returning to his home airport and obtained the automated weather information from another airport located close by. The pilot misinterpreted the wind direction, which was 010 degrees at 9 knots as 110 degrees at 9 knots. As a result, the pilot landed long on runway 17 with a left quartering tailwind, bounced, and tried to turn onto a taxiway with too much speed. The pilot was unable to slow the airplane down and subsequently went off the end of the runway into a construction zone. A post-accident examination of the airplane revealed the firewall and left wing spar were substantially damaged. No mechanical deficiencies were noted with the airplane or its systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12CA
- Reported as
- Beech 35-C33
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CD-1025
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO-470 SERIES, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ballard Michael K
- Registered owner
- Ballard Michael K
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- HYS · Hays Municipal, KS
- Destination
- F46 · Rockwall, TX
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- F46 · Rockwall Municipal, runway 17
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 191 total · 147 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- HQZ, 12 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 28, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 837 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.