- Date
- May 31, 1996, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Barbour Island, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6351WPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960531012329A
- Case key
- 38024
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 adequately compensate for gusty wind conditions.
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 flight encountered gusty winds on final approach, drifted left, and struck trees on the left side of the runway.
Factual narrative
On May 31, 1996, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140, N6351W, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91, personal, local flight, crashed in the vicinity of Barbour Island, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private pilot was not injured.
According to the pilot while on approach for a landing to a private airstrip, he encountered gusty winds, lost control of the airplane, and impacted trees to the left of the runway.
The pilot stated on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that he approached the landing site at "70 mph, 5mph high for this phase, at the threshold," and that the altitude was about "15 feet" above ground level, "or a little high." The pilot further stated, "I was hit by a gust that turned me to the right." He stated that he made a correction, "and was immediately hit by a much stronger gust," that turned the airplane to the left "sharply." He applied full right aileron and full power. He stated that at this point, "...I was facing a live oak tree on the left side of the runway; I could not clear the top, and went into it."
No discrepancies were found with either the airframe or the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6351W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2820409
- Airframe hours
- 5,060
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Timothy Keith-Lucas
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 20, 1995 · 88 hours before
- Departed
- UOS · Sewanee, TN
- Airport
- NONE · Barbour Island, runway 4, 2,600 × 120 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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 796 total · 785 in this make and model · 751 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- 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.