- Date
- March 15, 2001, 11:49 local (17:49 UTC)
- Place
- Lawton, OK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N210HSCessna 210D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20010315005519A
- Case key
- 51926
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare/touchdown. A contributing factor was the crosswind.
Analysis
The pilot obtained weather information prior to the flight, en route, and on final approach for the landing. The pilot reported that when the airplane was cleared for the landing on runway 35, the tower controller reported the wind from 310 degrees at 25 knots, and during the landing flare/touchdown, the controller stated "the wind was changing rapidly and was now from 270." The pilot reported that "at touchdown the crosswind overcame my ability to keep the aircraft straight." The left wing tip struck the runway, and the airplane exited the runway and came to rest upright in the grass between the runway and a taxiway. The pilot rated passenger reported the airplane was number two to land behind another aircraft that reported a loss of 10 knots airspeed at touchdown. Approximately one hour after the accident, the weather observation at the airport reported the wind from 300 degrees at 23 knots with gust to 31 knots.
Factual narrative
The factual narrative419 words
On March 15, 2001, at 1149 central standard time, a Cessna 210D airplane, N210HS, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control during the landing/flare touchdown at the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, Lawton, Oklahoma. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot and the pilot rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and activated for the cross-country flight, which departed Alice, Texas, at 0900.
On the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot reported that he received a weather briefing from San Angelo Flight Service Station prior to the departure from Alice, Texas. En route the flight experienced headwinds at 20-25 knots, and the pilot obtained an update on the winds by contacting flight watch. The pilot continued the flight to Lawton and was informed by the tower controller that the winds were from 310 degrees at 25 knots at the airport. The pilot reported that during the landing flare/touchdown on runway 35, the controller stated "the wind was changing rapidly and was now from 270." The pilot reported that "at touchdown the crosswind overcame my ability to keep the aircraft straight, and subsequently [the airplane] ran off the runway."
The pilot rated passenger reported the en route headwinds were at 30-35 knots with occasional light to moderate turbulence. The Lawton tower controller cleared the aircraft to land, number two, behind another aircraft that reported a loss of 10 knots airspeed at touchdown. Further, the pilot rated passenger stated that the tower reported a "wind shift from 25 knots at 310, to 45 knots at 270." During the landing flare/touchdown, "the left wing dipped ... the wind caught the airplane," and it was lifted back into the air to approximately 8-10 feet agl. The pilot "got the airplane back down, the wind again caught the left wing," and subsequently the propeller struck the runway. The pilot "forced the aircraft to veer with the wind, to the right off the runway in order to prevent the airplane from turning upside down." The airplane came to rest in the grass between the runway and a taxiway.
The FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the outboard 5 feet of the left wing was bent upward approximately 1.5 feet.
At 1253, the weather observation facility at the airport reported the wind from 300 degrees at 23 knots with gusts to 31 knots.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N210HS
- Reported as
- Cessna 210D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21058465
- Airframe hours
- 4,232
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-A1B, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Travis H. Burris
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 14, 2000 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- ALI · Alice, TX
- Destination
- LAW · Lawton, OK
- Airport
- LAW · Lawton-Fort Sill Regional, runway 35, 8,599 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 30, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 611 total · 523 in this make and model · 537 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 23 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.65 inHg
- Observed at
- LAW
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N210HS · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.