- Date
- April 3, 1998, 14:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Wooster, OH
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N63250Ramseyer Tierra II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980403035499A
- Case key
- 39551
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 airspeed during the landing approach. A factor in this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in make and model.
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 had recently purchased the airplane and had received about 1 hour of dual instruction with a certified flight instructor (CFI) in the airplane, prior to the accident flight. The pilot said he was having trouble keeping the airplane stable during the landing approach because it produced a lot of lift and wanted to fly. The pilot stated '...I was controlling my altitude with the throttle until I stalled and dropped...' The 1 hour of dual instruction the pilot received before the accident was his only flight experience in make and model.
Factual narrative
On April 3, 1998, about 1425 eastern standard time, a homebuilt TIERRA II, N63250, was substantially damaged during a landing to a private unlisted airstrip in Wooster, Ohio. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight that originated at the airstrip and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a telephone interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the pilot stated he had recently purchased the airplane and had received about 1 hour of dual instruction with a certified flight instructor (CFI) in the airplane, prior to the accident flight. The pilot said he was having trouble keeping the airplane stable during the landing approach because it produced a lot of lift and wanted to fly. He also stated, the airplane was constantly being moved about by wind gusts. The pilot said he slowed the airplane to "20" on the airspeed indicator and was then caught by a gust of wind which raised the airplane's nose and slowed the airspeed. The airplane then hit the ground nose low.
In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the pilot indicated he did not experience any mechanical problems with the airplane. He also stated, "...I was controlling my altitude with the throttle until I stalled and dropped..."
Examination of the wreckage by an FAA Inspector, did not reveal any pre-impact abnormalities of the airframe or engine.
The pilot reported 91 hours of total flight experience on his last application for an FAA Third Class Medical Certificate which was issued on September 15, 1997. The 1 hour of dual instruction he received before the accident was his only flight experience in make and model.
Winds reported at a nearby airport at 1453, were from 050 degrees at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63250
- Reported as
- Ramseyer Tierra II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- R250063
- Engine
- Bombardier ROTAX, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William D. Cherry
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 91 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BJJ, 2 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.