- Date
- November 11, 1995, 16:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Estherville, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7515CForney F-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951111049409A
- Case key
- 10154
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 maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing. A factor associated with the accident was the 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.
Analysis
The pilot stated the crosswind landing was uneventful until the flare when the crosswind quit. She stated that the airplane traveled to the right of the runway then a gust caused the right wing to raise. She stated she banked to the right in an attempt to lower the wing and the airplane traveled off the right side of the runway where it came to rest on a 4 foot high embankment.
Factual narrative
On November 11, 1995, at 1630 central standard time, a Forney F- 1 Aircoupe, N7515C, flown by a private pilot collided with the terrain following a loss of control on landing at the Estherville Municipal Airport, Estherville, Iowa. The 14 CFR Part 91 local flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The local flight originated at 1530 cst.
The landing was being made on runway 16 (4,797'x 75'). The pilot stated she was correcting for the right crosswind and everything was normal until the flare. She stated that during the flare the crosswind "quit" and the airplane began to travel off the side of the runway. She stated a gust of wind then caught the right wing raising it. She reported she turned to the right in an attempt to lower the wing and the airplane traveled off the side of the runway where it came to rest on top of a 4 foot high embankment. Local winds were reported as 230 degrees at 8 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7515C
- Reported as
- Forney F-1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5626
- Airframe hours
- 2,864
- Engine
- Continental C-90, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Donald E. Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1995 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- EST
- Airport
- EST · Estherville Municipal, runway 16, 4,797 × 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
- 18
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 223 total · 131 in this make and model · 7 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 23 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EST
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.