- Date
- July 6, 1996, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Goshen, OH
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55PRBoeing Stearman E75N1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 16, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960706043949A
- Case key
- 28080
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 failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain during short final approach/landing flare. The hot temperature was a related factor.
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 reported that she was giving a friend a ride in the airplane, and that they were coming in for a landing on runway 24. She stated: 'It was a hot day [and] I could feel the plane settle over the corn field. I was a little low so I added power coming over the field.' The pilot indicated that when she thought that she had cleared the field, she reduced the power. She reported that '...as soon as I reduced power the plane settled and clipped the edge of the ditch instead of gliding on to touch down on the numbers...I continued to land...it was a smooth, straight ahead, soft landing - except the [landing] gear was gone.' The pilot indicated that the heat produced from the corn field and ditch tend to make the airplane settle much quicker on hot summer days. There was no evidence or claim of preimpact airplane anomaly. The pilot reported that the temperature at the time of the accident was 88 degrees F.
Factual narrative
On July 6, 1996, at about 1600 eastern daylight time, a Boeing Stearman E75N1, N55PR, operated by the registered owner/private pilot, touched down short of the runway and impacted a ditch, while attempting to land at a private airstrip near Goshen, Ohio. The pilot and the one passenger reported no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, and no flight plan was filed. The pleasure flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and originated from Goshen, Ohio, at approximately 1550.
The pilot reported that she was giving a friend a ride in the airplane, and that they were coming in for a landing on runway 24. She stated: "It was a hot day [and] I could feel the plane settle over the corn field. I was a little low so I added power coming over the field." The pilot indicated that when she thought that she had cleared the field, she reduced the power. She stated that "...as soon as I reduced power the plane settled and clipped the edge of the ditch instead of gliding on to touch down on the numbers. I heard a thud but there was no big jolt." The pilot stated the she continued to land the airplane as usual, and that the landing was "...smooth, straight ahead, [a] soft landing - except the [landing] gear was gone."
The pilot stated that "...on hot summer days, the heat generated from the corn field [and] ditch tends to make the airplane settle much quicker. It is important to shorten the base to final pattern [and] make a slightly steeper approach knowing it will sink quickly." The pilot reported that the temperature at the time of the accident was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (F.)
There was no evidence or claim of preimpact aircraft anomaly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55PR
- Reported as
- Boeing Stearman E75N1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 75-8788
- Engine
- Lycoming R-680-E3B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Reed, Jeanne B.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 1995 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- OH65
- Airport
- OH65 · Hickory Grove, runway 24, 1,640 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 375 total · 80 in this make and model · 319 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.