- Date
- April 23, 1994, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hempstead, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2302NCessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940423009309A
- Case key
- 19046
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 improper selection of the strip between the two runways. Factors were the pilot not being familiar with the airstrip and the soft, wet terrain.
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 planned to practice touch and go landings at an unfamiliar private/glider strip. He set up his approach on the strip between the two runways. During the landing roll the airplane encountered a soft wet area and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer and left wing strut were structurally damaged. The pilot flew his approach to what he thought was the main strip. He was unaware that he was landing in the unimproved area between the parallel runways.
Factual narrative
On April 23, 1994, at 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 140, N2302N, was substantially damaged during landing at Hempstead, Texas. The private pilot and his pilot rated passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight.
The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, that he was going to practice touch and go landings in his newly acquired airplane. He chose Hempstead Airport, a private/glider strip that he was not familiar with. According to the enclosed report, the pilot "landed on what looked to be main strip." However, it "turned out to be between strips." During the landing roll the airplane encountered a soft wet area and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer and left wing strut were structurally damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2302N
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12542
- Airframe hours
- 4,689
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kieth H. Rutledge
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1994
- Departed
- 11R · Brenham, TX
- Airport
- 35R · Hempstead
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 420 total · 8 in this make and model · 345 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IAH, 47 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.
Other investigations on N2302N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.