# NTSB IAD96LA106: Cessna 170B, N8099A, Beckley, WV, July 2, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 2, 1996, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC) - Place: Beckley, WV - Coordinates: 37.780689, -81.179954 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7807&lon=-81.1800&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 31, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 28074 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD96LA106 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/28074/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD96LA106 ## 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 In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, cruise - normal - weather condition - thunderstorm (contributing factor) - vfr flight into imc - continued, pilot in command (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - poor, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) ## 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](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8099A-2013-05-13), registration cancelled 2013-05-13, S/N 20951, built 1952 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170B - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (registry code 17012, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 20951 - Airframe hours: 4090 - Engines: 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 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19960702016139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960702016139A), Jul 2, 1996: Cessna 170B, Raleigh County, WV, Destroyed. Made emergency landing due to adverse weather, clipped trees and cartwheeled on landing. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.