- Date
- October 10, 2000, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Stockbridge, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N909GHHarwell/Gardner WAG-AERO Cubby
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 6, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20001010017269A
- Case key
- 50418
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 a visual lookout during a forced landing resulting in an on-ground collision with a berm on landing roll out. Contributing to the accident was a reported loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
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 experienced a reported loss of engine power after takeoff. He attempted an engine restart with negative results, and a forced landing was made to an open field. The left main landing gear collided with a berm on roll out and the airplane nosed over inverted. Examination of the engine assembly and accessories did not detect the cause for the reported loss of engine power.
Factual narrative
On October 10, 2000, at about 1130 eastern daylight time, a Harwell/Gardner, Wag-Aero Cubby, N909GH, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a reported total loss of engine power in the traffic pattern at Berry Hill Airport, Stockbridge, Georgia. The pilot made a forced landing to an open field and crashed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the pilot reported no injuries. The accident occurred about 9 minutes after departing Berry Hill Airport.
The pilot stated he departed from runway 11 and turned crosswind at about 500 feet when the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. He attempted an engine restart with negative results. A forced landing was made to an open field. The left main landing gear collided with a berm and the airplane nosed over inverted.
Examination of the engine assembly and components by the FAA did not reveal the source of the reported loss of engine power by the pilot. (See FAA Inspector statement an attachment to this report.)
Aircraft
- Registration
- N909GH
- Reported as
- Harwell/Gardner WAG-AERO Cubby (WAG-AERO C)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1077
- Airframe hours
- 455
- Engine
- Continental C85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph N. Gardner Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 20, 1999 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- 4AO
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
- 77
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 1,435 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL
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 N909GH · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.