- Date
- July 2, 1996, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Beckley, WV
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8099ACessna 170B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960702016139A
- Case key
- 28074
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 pilots decision to continue flying from VFR to IMC conditions which subsequently forced him to make a precautionary landing onto unsuitable 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 stated that en route to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina he encountered severe rain and thunderstorms near Beckley, West Virginia. He said that the weather was so severe that he could not continue on to Beckley where he intended to land and wait out the storm. The pilot said that he spotted a hay field and made a precautionary landing. During the landing the aircraft struck a tree with the left wing and nosed into the ground causing substantial damage to the aircraft.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On July 2, 1996, at about 1215 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N8099A, crashed into a hay field when the pilot made a precautionary landing in an attempt to avoid a severe thunderstorm near Beckley, West Virginia. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. The third passenger, the pilot's wife, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of takeoff, and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight originated in Brookville Airpark, (I62) Brookville, Ohio at 0645. The pilot stopped at Gallipolis, Ohio (GAS), at about 0800, and remained there for about 3 hours due to weather. At about 1100 they took off en route to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (FFA). The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that he got a weather briefing from the local Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Service Station (FSS) and flew south to avoid some weather. When they got to the Beckley, West Virginia area the weather had deteriorated with heavy rain and the pilot decided to land at the Beckley airport which was just east of their position. The pilot stated that because of the rain and poor visibility and low ceiling he could not get to the airport. He said he spotted a hay field and made 3 or 4 approaches into it followed by an "emergency landing". He said the terrain was rolling hills and trees with some electrical towers. He said that at the time the hay field looked like a good place to set the aircraft down.
Wreckage examination/documentation
Examination of the aircraft found that it had struck a tree with the left wing prior to touching down in the field. The aircraft's left wing and nose impacted the ground separating the engine from the airframe.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8099A
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20951
- Airframe hours
- 4,090
- Engine
- Continental C-145, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William E. Rasor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 4, 1995 · 53 hours before
- Departed
- GAS · Gallipolis, OH
- Destination
- FFA · Kill Devil Hill, NC
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KBK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.