- Date
- April 19, 2002, 17:05 local (21:05 UTC)
- Place
- Smithville, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N502MACessna 150H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 17, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20020419010899A
- Case key
- 54563
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 directional control. A factor was the gusty winds
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 he was practicing take-off's and landings on runway 28, and on his fourth landing, the airplane was hit by a strong gust of wind. The pilot reported that he added power to perform a go-around, but was unable to keep the airplane on the runway. About 1705, the airplane departed the runway on the left side, crossed a bank, and nosed over in a field. The recorded weather recorded at the airport at 1652 included winds from 270 degrees at 8 knots. At 1707, the winds were reported from 340 degrees at 7 knots with gusts to 26 knots.
Factual narrative
On April 19, 2002, about 1705 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150H, N502MA, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing at Wayne County Airport, Smithville, Ohio. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight. No flight plan had been filed for the flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated:
"I was practicing take-offs and landings [on runway 28]. I had done 3 landings and was on the 4th when all of a sudden the wind changed and picked up like a big microburst. I tried to keep the plane on the runway, but the wind was too strong. I gave it full throttle to try and get back into the air, but it picked me up and pushed me across the runway and over a bank, into a field where it flipped [over]."
In a follow-up telephone interview, the pilot reported that he had not observed any dust blowing or thunderstorms while in the traffic pattern. He did report that while on final approach, he noticed an increased crab for the crosswind. The airplane had just touched down and was on all three wheels, when it was hit by a gust and turned. He also reported that prior to the accident, the windsock had been hanging limp, and about 20 minutes after the accident, the winds had decreased to light winds.
According to an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the vertical fin was crushed. The nose landing gear was separated from the airplane, and the firewall was wrinkled. In addition, the left wing tip was pushed in and the wing skin was wrinkled.
The FAA inspector further reported that the airplane departed the left side of the runway, crossed a grassy area, followed by a taxiway, and then came to rest in a plowed field upside down.
According to archived airport weather reports taken from Wayne County Airport, at 1553, the wind was from 260 degrees at 7 knots, at 1653, the wind was from 270 degrees at 8 knots, and at 1707, it was from 340 degrees at 17 knots with gusts to 26 knots.
According to data from the FAA, runway 28 was 5,192 feet long, 100 feet wide, and had an asphalt surface.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N502MA
- Reported as
- Cessna 150H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15067576
- Airframe hours
- 7,460
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mid-Ohio Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Mid-Ohio Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 14, 2001 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- BJJ · Smithville, OH
- Destination
- BJJ
- Airport
- BJJ · Wayne County Airport, runway 28, 5,192 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- February 9, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 452 total · 39 in this make and model · 406 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 17 knots, gusting 26
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- BJJ
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 27, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 447 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.