- Date
- May 23, 1994, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Franklin, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5234GCessna 305A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 2, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940523012289A
- Case key
- 38760
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 loss of airplane directional control during landing as a result of a tire failure, and the subsequent collision with soft terrain.
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 approach for landing on the grass airstrip was normal. The pilot stated: 'at touchdown...[I] felt [a] wobble on the right side....[the] aircraft settled and veered to the right, consistent with a blown tire.' The pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The right landing gear impacted soft terrain and spun the airplane around. An FAA inspector found the right main tire tube valve stem sheared.
Factual narrative
On Monday, May 23, 1994, at 1230 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 305A, N5234G, registered to and piloted by George S. Parker, sustained substantial damage during a landing at the Grasso Airpark, Franklin, Virginia. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
During the landing on the grass runway, the pilot was unable to maintain directional control after touchdown, and the airplane veered to the right and impacted soft terrain. The fuselage was twisted during this collision.
The pilot stated:
At touchdown [the] aircraft bounced slightly. [I] felt wobble on the right side....Aircraft settled and veered to right, consistent with blown tire.
Mr. Edward L. Hall, an Air Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, examined the airplane. In his report, Mr. Hall stated:
The [right] tire tube was found to have the valve stem sheared at the base attachment of the valve stem. The overall condition of the tire was good.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5234G
- Reported as
- Cessna 305A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22504
- Engine
- Continental O-470-11, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- George S. Parker
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 8, 1993
- Departed
- ORF · Norfolk, VA
- Airport
- 62VA · Grasso Airpark, runway 27, 2,000 × 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,800 total · 8 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
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 N5234G · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.