- Date
- April 24, 2011, 13:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Galax, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4920DCessna 182A
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Windshear or thunderstorm
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 3, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110424007009A
- Case key
- 78977
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 inadequate compensation for the wind while on approach for landing.
Findings · 2
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 stated that he was conducting a visual approach for a full-stop landing with a gusting wind. The airplane experienced a sudden loss of altitude while on final approach and the pilot realized that he would land short of the runway. The airplane impacted terrain approximately 1,000 feet short of the runway threshold, resulting in substantial damage to the forward fuselage and engine firewall. The pilot sustained a concussion during the impact and was unable to recall the events of the accident subsequent to the loss of altitude. A pilot-rated witness saw the airplane on a one-quarter mile final approach, and observed it bank to the right between 45-60 degrees, then bank to the left about 20 degrees, with an approximate 30-degree nose-high attitude. The airplane appeared to stall and then disappeared from his view. Both the pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident stated that there were no preexisting mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was conducting a visual approach for a full-stop landing in gusty wind conditions. The airplane experienced a sudden loss of altitude while on final approach, and the pilot realized that he would land short of the runway. The airplane impacted terrain approximately 1,000 feet short of the runway threshold, resulting in substantial damage to the forward fuselage and engine firewall. The pilot sustained a concussion during the impact, and was unable to recall the events of the accident subsequent to the loss of altitude. A pilot-rated witness saw the airplane on a one-quarter mile final, and observed it bank to the right between 45-60 degrees, then bank to the left about 20 degrees, with an approximate 30-degree nose high attitude. The airplane appeared to stall, then disappeared from his view. Both the pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4920D
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 51020
- Airframe hours
- 2,654
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- N4920d LLC
- Registered owner
- N4920d LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 11, 2010
- Departed
- ROA · Roanoke, VA
- Destination
- HLX · Galax, VA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- HLX · Twin County Airport
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
- 50
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 400 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 13 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- HLX
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 2, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 377 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.